DRUMMER BOY by Loren Long

I have not been in the holiday spirit. Kind of annoyed that my favorite coffee shop started serving red paper cups already. Not ready to see all of the trees. It is only November, after all!

But tonight, I finally had a chance to sit down and read Loren Long's new picture book DRUMMER BOY and I am totally in the holiday spirit now. WHAT A BOOK! If you are looking for a great, new Christmas story that will last generations, this one is just that. A great gift book for any child (or adult) you know.

We all have our favorite holiday stories. My father read a certain version of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS to my brother and I each Christmas Eve when we were children. My oldest daughter loved to hear THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY at Christmastime. There are so many holiday books published and I enjoy many of them. But very few do what this one does. I am sure that this new book by Loren Long will be added to many families' lists of holiday favorites. Definitely the makings of a classic.

I am not going to say much about the story. I drafted something but it doesn't do the story justice. Loren Long says it in a way that I can't summarize. It is a perfect story about a toy drummer boy. Its message is great and the illustrations are stunning.

This is definitely going to be a gift book from me this year. I am thinking it will be great for two preschoolers in the family. A book they can hopefully grow up with. I am pretty excited to give this book as a gift and to enjoy it in our family.

Loren Long's website is definitely worth a visit. He shares original sketches of the art in the book as well as notes explaining his inspiration for the story.

Loren Long visited our school last year when he and Jon Scieszka were touring for the new TRUCKTOWN series. He is a great author/illustrator visit. The kids loved watching him create his drawings!