A Puppy's First Christmas

Animal Stories #50

by Holly Webb, Sophy Williams (Illustrator)

Aria is excited to celebrate her puppy’s first Christmas – they’ll make snowmen and eat lots of food, and she’s even bought him a special present with her pocket money! But when Aria’s family come to stay, Jackson becomes over-excited and scares Aria’s younger cousin.

On Christmas morning things only seem to get worse. Jackson is shut out of the living room while gifts are being opened, Aria can’t find his present and then the puppy eats Grandma’s fluffy winter boots! With her parents refusing to take her side, will Aria and Jackson get their perfect Christmas after all?

Genres: Christmas

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2021

About the author

Holly Webb is one of Britain's best-loved children's writers. She has written over a hundred books for children, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages. Holly lives in Tilehurst, just outside of Reading, Berkshire, with her husband, three children and several cats.

Reviews

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book aimed at young readers, but will appeal to parents as well. It shares several themes that they can explore if they are reading to their child, or children. Some of which center around the holiday, some around responsibilities, but at the center of this story is a young girl, Aria, and her puppy, Jackson.

As this begins, it’s the last day of school before Christmas vacation, and she is looking forward to spending more time with Jackson, taking him out to play in the snow, playing with him, and building snowmen, and she’s especially looking forward to giving him a special present she bought for him.

When her grandparents and cousins arrive, it’s clear that her grandmother clearly doesn’t want anything to do with her puppy, and one of the cousins is scared of Jackson. She is forced to keep Jackson hidden away when her grandmother leaves her boots out and discovers they have been chewed on. Not long after, she takes Jackson on a walk, which will change everything.

This was a really sweet read with several illustrations that will appeal to young readers, especially those who love dogs, and to parents, as well. I’ve already pre-ordered a copy for one of the little ones in my family.


Pub Date: September 5, 2023

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Tiger Tales and Edelweiss

[Ugnė Lukošienė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gal kiek pertempta ir gal ne pati įsimintiniausia mums šios mylimos autorės knygelė, bet kaip ir kitos - dvelkianti gerumu ir meile 🩷

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Labai simboliška, kad šią knygelę baigiau Kūčių vakarą.
Trumpa ir apimanti gan trumpą laiko tarpą, tačiau labai jauki knygelė. Vienas dalykas, kuris man itin įstrigo buvo tai, kad šuniuko šeimininkė (t.y. mėgaitė, kurios šeimoje jis auga) yra itin jautrus asmuo. Tai net paminima knygoje ir aš, tokia pat itin jautri asmenybė, nejučia net šyptelėjau.

[Bee Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, fine, Holly, I admit it...I did cry a bit here. Largely because in our house the pet also gets put away when there are visitors, so I can empathise with Jackson!

50 books. That's just in this series, too, Holly has plenty of others! I can't believe it, but I definitely hope there are at least 50 more to come. There are plenty more stories out there about kittens and puppies after all.

This one is fantastic, too, with poor Aria seeming a bit socially nervous and Jackson supporting her loyally. Once we got past the terrifying bit to the happy ending (er,spoiler?) I was really glad. This has all the best parts of a family Christmas, and a great message about young animals as well!

Fantastic, Holly. Here's to many more.

[Hollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so boring I fell asleep listening to my daughter reading it

[meriidies · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3/5]
slodziasne, ale ci rodzice to jacys niepowazni byliXDD

[Elizabeth Roshon Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute read-a-loud for elementary kids who love dogs.