Saturday, November 15, 2008

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!

9 comments:

  1. OH I CAN'T WAIT TO READ IT! I am looking for a great NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS book, I would love to see your recommendation!

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  2. Anonymous9:34 AM

    I'm so excited to read this book. I always add a new picture book to my children's, as well as my niece's, holiday book collection. We get them out and read one (or more) a night between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanks!

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  3. Anonymous9:41 AM

    Thanks for the suggestion. On the list. Perfect for granddaughter who has a drum part in her preschool event for the holidays.

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  4. This looks like a terrific Christmas present! I need to run to the book store right now and start my Christmas shopping.

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  5. Thanks so much for sharing this! We are buying books for gifts this year, so this will be great for my 2 preschool nephews. I'm so glad you mentioned it today.

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  6. Thanks for the review! Going to read more....

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  7. This is a pretty big statement -- a holdiay classic!! I'm going to have to check it out for myself. I love anything to do with the holidays. If this book has a message about anything other than consumerism, I'll be adding it to my holiday library!!

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  8. Anonymous1:16 PM

    This is one of my favorite christmas songs, so I will be sure to check out the book!

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  9. Oh, I MUST see this! Thanks for the review.

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