Monday 25 October 2010

Children's Book Review : When Magic Really Happens - Forever Friends Christmas Storybook (Hallmark)


I absolutely love Christmas and building up all the excitement to the big day with the kids doing copious amounts of Christmas crafts and baking, decorating and stories. However, it's not even the end of October yet so I can't start getting worked up about the festive season before Halloween is even out of the way or we'll peak too early ! I therefore wasn't feeling at all Christmassy when I was asked to review Hallmark's lovely new end-of-year offerings for the kids.

That soon changed though when I started reading the lovely festive story featuring the iconic Forever Friends bears. With the glitter on the front cover and the beautiful illustrations on each page, this book will really appeal to young children who will love looking at the pictures as you read aloud.

The story is a lovely tale of kindness, generosity and friendship.The Forever Friends Little Bear decides that it's not fair that Santa gives out millions of presents every year but never gets any back so he leaves him a surprise on Christmas Eve. The magical, enchanting story reminded me a bit of that festive staple The Snowman when Santa takes his hand and they go flying off to the sleigh on the roof. It's a lovely tale with some wholesome values for children to think about.

But the really magical thing is that you can go on to the Forever Friends website and watch a little animated film that ties in with the book. Bringing the story to life off of the page made the book even more special for 9-year-old Sophie and 5-year-old Juliette and even 1-year-old Pierre seemed mesmerised by the screen and giggled and smiled repeatedly ! It only lasts for 3 minutes so it's short enough to hold their attention - in fact, there were cries of "Can we watch it again ?" as soon as it ended !

The book is already great value, costing just £4.99 which is not expensive for a beautiful hardback that will be read many times, but if you're quick, it's free instore at Hallmark's while stocks last if you spend £15/€20 - what are you waiting for ? Time to go and get stocked up on this year's Christmas cards !

star rating : 5/5

RRP : £4.99

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