Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve

Minerva Louise

by Janet Morgan Stoeke

What is that fat guy in the red suit doing on the roof? wonders Minerva Louise one snowy evening. She follows him down the chimney and, to her surprise, sees a big tree inside. The harebrained hen can?t make any sense of it, but young children will cackle with delight as they follow Minerva around on her Christmas Eve adventure with the jolly fat fellow. She even gets a present!

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Humor, Holiday, Childrens, Animals, Storytime

24 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2007

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this four stars because I think it would have amused me a great deal when I was little. Minerva Louise has such a unique, funny perspective on Christmas--thinking Christmas twinkle lights are fireflies and that Santa is a farmer with a red hat who lost the wheels off his truck. I think kids will enjoy feeling a bit wiser than dear Minerva Louise! ;-)

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would die for Minerva Louise

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: Minerva Louise loved the way the snow sparkled on the house with the red curtains.

Premise/plot: Minerva Louise returns to the house with red curtains. She's curious about the sparkly tree topped with a hen and the goats on the roof. Why is the farmer wearing a red hat? So many questions this hen has. She's back and as silly as ever.

My thoughts: It's Christmas and Minerva Louise is confused about all the changes inside and out! I really am fond of this chicken! My favorite is her confusion about why the strange man was eating her farmers' breakfast!

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another funny case of Minerva Louise mixing things up!

Ages: 4 - 8

Cleanliness: this story has Santa Claus.

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[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minerva Louise celebrates Christmas.

Minerva Louise, the chronically befuddled chicken, is admiring the multicolored fireflies on an evergreen tree when she notices a farmer in a red suit up on the rooftop along with eight goats and tractor missing its wheels. And when he falls down the chimney, she follows him into the house where more amusing confusion ensues.

This book was the big hit of this year's Pajama Story Time. The kids enjoyed shouting out the "right answer" whenever Minerva Louise drew the wrong conclusion about what was happening.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas is confusing when you see the world as a chicken does.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh Minerva, you're so cute.

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorbs!

[Suzanne LaPierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a sweet and funny book for children age 2-8 who celebrate Christmas, this one is a treat. Minerva Louise is a naïve little white hen who, as in the original Minerva Louise book, finds herself in the farmer's house, seeing the human world through a hen's eyes (the fireplace is big dusty nest, etc.). This makes a fun read-aloud for storytime because kids love to point out all the ways Minerva is mistaken. It gives them a laugh while allowing them to feel very knowledgeable. Only this time there is a Christmas Eve theme: "That's not a goat with antlers, it's a reindeer! No, those aren't colored fireflies, they're Christmas lights! That's not a farmer in a red hat, that's Santa!" The minimalist illustrations are soothing and easy to understand, with enough detail to allow the little ones to pick up on background details from page to page, such as multiple white angels (which Minerva thinks are fluffy hens like herself.) If your children don't all celebrate Christmas, you may want to see A Hat for Minerva Louise for a delightful seasonal snow story without the specific holiday referenced.

Full disclose: I am only a tiny bit biased because the author lives in my neighborhood and signed a book for me, which I purchased. But honestly, I was a children's librarian for ten years and these Minerva Louise books make wonderful storytime books for the preschool crowd. They are short and simple enough to read to the 2-3 year olds, but the 4-5's also like to correct the hen's mistakes. Heck, I even laughed a couple of times as an adult. (The ending of this one reminds me of how small children play with the boxes more than the gifts.)

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minerva Louise is confused about who is Santa and what he is doing in her farmer’s house. The story has the Santa and Christmas eve elements, but the chicken isn’t comprehending what is happening. I think the rushed overtired parents will get a few giggles out of this one more than their children.
Have a hot drink and read this title to release the tension of the holiday season.

[Kylie Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun edition of Minerva, this time on Christmas Eve. She thinks Santa is trying to move in on her farmers’ house and eat their breakfast. She thinks the reindeer are goats with their fanciest horns and Christmas lights are fireflies. She always makes us laugh.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute book. My daughter really enjoyed it. Love how the chicken mistakes everything's Christmas for something else. It's a book you can laugh tougher while reading

[Annburnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little Christmas book about a chicken and her Christmas. Good book for my granddaughter.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite Minerva book.

[Meleofa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. It reminds me of our own hens.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to my 3 month old as a 25 days of Christmas reading tradition. Minerva Louise is a hilarious hen! I will need to read the other books that feature this funny hen!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minerva Louise is my favorite hen!

[carrietracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never read a single Minerva Louise book until this one. It was really simple, but it had the 5 year old giggling so that's really the main goal at any given time, right?

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zander, my 6 year old, loved telling me all the ways Minerva Louise was wrong and and what was really right.

[Melissa Loehle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love that simple little bird, but what’s up with the lack of quotation marks in the dialogue?

[Bonnie Arriola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this hen!!!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minerva Louise is curious and adventurous. On Christmas Eve she discovers a Christmas tree outside the house with the red curtains. She makes her usual mistaken conjectures about what it is and why it is and then keeps exploring. She sees goats on the roof (reindeer) and a farmer in a red hat (Santa) and bravely attempts to rescue him when he falls down the well (chimney).

At the end, there is a gift for Minerva Louise from Santa and it's just right for her and her continued infatuation with the house with the red curtains.

A cute Christmas read for kids ages 3 and up. My kids and their friends laughed when they pointed out Minerva's mistakes. And they love her for them.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grabbed this off the Christmas display before my 1st Christmas-themed Hop 'n' Harmonies (along with two other books). Very cute. I enjoy Minerva's silliness. But my small, young, new crowd didn't seem to get it. Either it was too old, or they were too shy to answer. I was still getting the kids who answered yes to every question I asked, even if they seemingly should have been obvious. (e.g. "Are those really fireflies strung on the tree?"

I think SJ would laugh at this one.

Yep. She did.

[Westcoast_girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a super cute book.
It lost a star though, because the grammar was poor (I'm a stickler for grammar!).
The book would switch from the first person to the third person. This would have been okay if they put quotation marks around Minerva's speech--er, thoughts--but they did not.
So 3 big stars it is!

Merry Christmas, Minerva Louise.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Minerva Louise. I have many days where I am also a lot like Minerva Louise - but that is neither here nor there.

A fun, fresh take on a visit from Santa that will get kids yelling helpful advice to Minerva as she tries to figure it all out...

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The name Minerva Louise caught my attention immediately and I had to check this book out. The silliness of the story was a huge hit with my class. We all found the book to be absolutely delightful. A must read.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and funny story of a chicken named Minerva Louise and her confused take on Christmas traditions. Preschoolers through Kindergarten or 1st may not understand the sense of humor, though. Recommend!

[gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think if my chickens could talk, they'd think just like Minerva Louise! I love these books. This is the second one I've read. Now I'm going to have to go out and get all the Minerva's to read :) They certainly do capture the curiosity and determination of chickens lol.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry and I read this on December 7th. Henry liked this book because Minerva Louise always thought things weren't what they really were. She thought Santa was a farmer and the ornaments on the Christmas tree were eggs. A super silly book!