Title: How
Winston Delivered Christmas.
Author/Illustrator:
Alex T. Smith.
Publisher:
Macmillan Children's Books.
Published:
2018.
Format:
Hardback.
Source: Own
copy.
For my Christmas blog post this year, I review How Winston Delivered Christmas, a book that I received just after Christmas last year but have enjoyed reading in full this year. It is an entertaining and heartwarming story that demonstrates the importance of helping others and showing acts of kindness, no matter how small.
The story
follows Winston, a young mouse who has always been looking for a place to call
home. One Christmas Eve, he discovers a mislaid Christmas letter addressed to
Father Christmas, and he makes it his job to get the letter delivered in time
before Christmas Day. Along the way, he meets up with a variety of different
characters who become his new friends and help him in his quest in many
different ways.
There are
twenty-five chapters overall, each accompanying a different day of
Advent. Each chapter is short and easy to read, yet enjoyable and fun
at the same time. The book is filled with beautiful illustrations that
perfectly add to the mood of each different chapter.
What makes this book stand out from other Christmas stories is that after each chapter, there are activities to try out at home, such as baking Christmas food and making decorations. Some of them are tied into the theme of the chapter that they accompany. Though I wasn't able to do all of them this year, I was able to complete many and had a lot of fun in the process! One other feature that I love is a list at the end of traditions that other countries have in celebrating Christmas.
This is a story with a well-written and diverse cast of characters along with plenty of humour and warmth (and a bit of suspense as well!). You will be rooting for the lovable Winston to succeed in his quest. I highly recommend this to people of all ages, and I promise that grown-ups will not be considered too old to join in with some of the activities too!
