Mistletoe

A surprise Christmas favourite of my 7-year-old son this year was, Mistletoe, a sweet holiday tale. Mistletoe is the name of the main character; she's a kind-hearted mouse, the sort of friend that anyone would be blessed to have. And that fortunate friend that we meet in this book is, Norwell, a gentle elephant. Norwell reminds me of myself some; we both don't like being out in the cold. (Honestly, you'd never know I grew up in the Canadian Rockies!)

This darling story first introduces Mistletoe who is so very excited to celebrate all things Christmas, especially the freshly falling snow. Norwell, on the other hand, would prefer to only participate in the indoor festivities where it is warm and cozy. Although Mistletoe happily enjoys the beauty of the winter snow on her walk home from doing holiday activities at Norwell's house, she is still discontented at not being able to share it with her elephant friend. Thus comes her great idea, and the next chunk of the book follows Mistletoe as she works on making the perfect Christmas present for Norwell. Mistletoe finally finishes her handiwork on Christmas Eve, and the book ends with her lugging her oversized gift (no spoilers here!) over to Norwell's house the next morning for their Christmas gift exchange...and a highly anticipated walk under a snowy sky together.

I wondered if the simplicity of the characters in this book would appeal to my kiddos or not, which is partly why I was a bit surprised by my son's liking of it. However, the variety in the illustrations, as well as their vibrant colours, easily kept them captivated. And the cute factor is so high on the last page that it is my son's absolute favourite illustration in the book.

The author's goal was for this book to "celebrate friendship and the gift of giving," and I think he did a brilliant job at just that. These two themes can take our children's eyes off of 'getting' at Christmas and encourage them to be kind and thoughtful gift-givers. And, this book might even embolden us warmth-loving parents to get out there and enjoy this chillier season to its fullest.

Mistletoe by Tad Hills

Published in 2020