Monday, September 27, 2010




This is the cover of David Shannon’s It’s Christmas, David! This book is about a little boy named David, who does everything you’re not supposed to do around Christmas time. He takes a sneak peek at his presents, he steals Christmas cookies, and he plays with fragile ornaments. He uses bad table manners at Christmas dinner, tries to open his Christmas presents early, and won’t go to sleep on Christmas Eve. He is constantly told “no” around this time and told that Santa’s watching and that he will get a lump of coal. The story is told in second person, so the reader gets the feeling of hearing the adults yelling at David. David apparently takes the admonishments and threats to heart, for he has a nightmare that Santa gave him a lump of coal and a letter saying he was naughty. However, at the end, David does get his Christmas presents and Christmas cookies and Santa gives him a nice letter.

This book will be very entertaining to children because it’s about all the trouble children can get into around Christmas rather than just about the good and happy things. A lot of children will probably be able to relate to this because David, the little boy in the story, does the kinds of things that every kid either does or wants to do around Christmas that they know they shouldn’t. Children will also be comforted by this book, for they will see that Santa still loves them and will give them presents even if they are just a little naughty.

Its Christmas David ! is an extraordinarily colorful book that is a holiday feast for the eyes. All twenty-nine pages are filled to the brim with rich scenery in a bold color pallet. A medley of deep reds, forest greens, royal blues and many other colors all intermingle together to create bright and eye catching scenes. The text itself is aesthetically pleasing. Written in a black bold style, resembling a young child’s hand writing, the text intermingles with each scene adds a great deal of depth and interest to the look of each paged.

What is most special about Its Christmas David! By David Shannon is that each scene is drawn from a small child’s perspective. Every action of the main character is portrayed in the first person. Visually this allows for an interaction between the reader and David, the main character. The illustrations make the reader feel like a participant in the story, viewing David’s actions in real time as they happen.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful and will mesmerize children of any age, and maybe the adults too.

For more information about the author, visit http://www.scholastic.com/titles/nodavid/davidshannon.htm

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the post about the enormously talented David Shannon, but I was a bit confused by the post. "David," the little boy, is the subject of three previous books. If you haven't yet, check out No, David!, David Goes to School and David Gets in Trouble. They are all extremely touching and kids relate to them.

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