Review Detail

LEMMING'S FIRST CHRISTMAS is a cute picture book about Christmas and friendship. Avinngaq lives under a house where she has just learned about the holiday, and her good friend Qimmiq knows how to celebrate - by decorating a tree and then Santa brings presents for under it. However, the other animals do not know what a tree is, as there are not any in the Arctic, so they work very hard to find one to decorate.

What I loved: This was a sweet picture book about Christmas in non-religious terms and working together/friendship. The animals all search for a tree that they can decorate to receive presents, with many bringing related items for Qimmiq to evaluate. The story is very simple and pages turn quickly with detailed illustrations throughout. The pages are in between board and picture book, which makes them quite sturdy, like a laminated cardstock thickness. This will work well for rougher little readers.

The back of the book includes some information about the animals as well as a pronunciation guide for the animals' names, which is very helpful. The font is clear and easy to read throughout, which makes this work well even in low light settings.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, the whole story centers around trying to find a tree. It felt a bit drawn out with so many animals asking whether something was a tree. It would have been nice to see other information related to the holiday with this part shortened, but this will vary with reader preference.

Final verdict: LEMMING'S FIRST CHRISTMAS is an overall cute picture book about friendship and the Christmas holiday.