Little Reading Coach

One of my favorite parts about Christmas are the seasonal foods and Starbucks lattes. I have a pretty insane sweet tooth, so I take advantage of the cookies this time of year. As I mentioned last week, I’m diving into my list of 15 Best Children’s Books for Christmas.  I truly can’t think of a time when I’ve read a holiday book about cookies, which is what caught my attention with today’s book.

A Christmas Cookie Exchange, by Sheri Wall, is a delicious Christmas picture book that teaches readers not to compare themselves to others.

Right away I was drawn to the writing style of this text. There is end rhyme on each page that helps the flow of the story and makes it super fun to read aloud. The sophisticated language paired with classy pictures, makes readers feel like they are attending a fancy holiday party.

However, my absolute favorite part is the characterization of the different cookies. Our main cookie, Phil, is just a basic cookie and he compares himself to the flashy holiday cookies. Each cookie has a unique personality that relates to their flavor. I really enjoyed “the Man” (a gingerbread man) personality the most and actually laughed out loud while I read his pages. I was also very entertained when Phil imagined himself as each cookie. The illustrations truly capture the essence of the text.

As a teacher, there were two elements I really liked about this text. Through the use of repetition, readers are able to piece the different themes together. But, just in case some readers struggle to do this, the author was kind enough to list the different themes at the end of the book s lessons Phil learned. I also LOVED how Wall included a glossary at the end of the book for readers. Her writing is so rich, but it may be a little advanced for some of the younger readers.

I can see this book being used in an preschool through second grade classroom during the month of December. It’s a truly great text to discuss characterization and vocabulary.

To purchase this book click here.

For more information about the author and to purchase other books click here.