Christmas Is Joy

Emma Dodd's Love You Books

by Emma Dodd

An enchanting celebration of the true meaning of Christmas, featuring two adorable reindeer

Christmas is love that lasts all year.
It's all of us, together, here.

Christmas is peace, stars twinkling above,
a night of sweet dreams and a heart full of love.

Emma Dodd’s joyful celebration of this wonderful time of year, as seen through the eyes of two reindeer, is a pure delight.

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

22 pages, Board book

Published September 6, 2022

About the author

Emma Dodd Author/Illustrator

Emma was brought up in Guildford, Surrey, in a family of artists and from as far back as she can remember she has wanted to be an illustrator.
Emma studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Central Saint Martin's School of Art and has worked extensively in advertising, editorial and book illustration.
She was nominated for the Booktrust Early Years Award in 2006 for her book "What Pet to Get" and in 2009 for "Miaow said the Cow"
Emma lives in Surrey with her husband and two children, who provide inspiration for her work, and their Jack Russel Terrier, Bart, who keeps her fit. She likes to spend any spare time in North Cornwall, surfing and walking in all weathers.

Reviews

[Vera Godley]

Illustrated with snowy scenes of reindeer in various groups with falling snow, evergreens, stars, sun, and a novel sprinkling of silver highlights on the scenes, it is a joy to read.

A simple poem of sweet emotions that often accompany one's Christmas experience, the words flow easily and speak to the heart.

Simple. Lovely. But not outstanding.

Care should be taken when reading in groups of children as all children do not experience these lovely emotions nor have delightful experiences at Christmas.

A lovely book for those whose families have lovely Christmas times.

I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

[Julie]

Emma Dodd's books are always gorgeous, with their glowing illustrations and simple messages. This one is beautifully done in shades of dark blues and browns with splashes of silver, gold, white and green. A reindeer parent and baby, along with the entire herd, remind us that "Christmas is love that lasts all year. It's all of us, together, here." The sweet message of joy, sharing, family, and laughter will resonate with readers of all ages.

[Kathryn]

Adorable. Nothing really “new” here but the sentiment is sweet if unoriginal and the illustrations are darling. The silver foil shine of the snow and the river add some extra magic.

[Abby Johnson]

If you know Emma Dodd, you know what you're getting with this one - really cute animal illustrations and a gentle, affirming message in sweet, rhyming text. This Christmas book emphasizes scenes of winter in nature with a reindeer family snuggling up together. It's not religious (aside from being about Christmas), but talks about spending time together, showing love for one another, and enjoying the peace of a quiet winter. The illustrations have some neat metallic silver details reminiscent of snow and ice.

Hand to fans of the author or anyone looking for a very gentle Christmassy bedtime story.

[Mary]

This quiet picture book is a soothing rhyme that describes the positive feelings and emotions of Christmas. The setting is a snowy landscape with soft textures and shiny silver for frost featuring a reindeer and calf. Lovely pictures and gentle verse make this an ideal bedtime book.

[Panda Incognito]

Emma Dodd's illustrations are charming and beautiful, and I love the shimmery foil accents. This is a lovely book for winter, and for a parent to read to express their love to their child.

[Rachel]

The illustrations were cute and I loved the foil details!
Short and sweet but gives you warm fuzzies.

[Olivia]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/christ...

CHRISTMAS IS JOY is a lovely board book that celebrates all the feelings of Christmas. Told in a poem, it is the love and fun shared during the holiday accompanied by a adult and child reindeer who enjoy the beauty of nature before settling down to sleep.

What I loved: This is a sweet and lyrical board book that celebrates all the joy and happiness of Christmas, particularly as the time shared together. Designed to be read by caregivers to the children they love, it is a story of happiness and snuggles centered around the non-religious Christmas holiday. The reindeer dyad brings the story to life with adorable animals and scenic wintery loveliness of snow and the Northern lights. Plenty of details and adorable illustrations will keep young readers enjoying the text, while only a few words per page keep it turning as quickly as readers would like.

The rhyming text and lyrical nature make this a pleasure to read aloud as it rolls off the tongue. Caregivers will enjoy expressing their love for little ones and the Christmas season with this sweet board book.

Final verdict: CHRISTMAS IS JOY is a lovely, lyrical read for caregivers to share with little ones.

[Becky]

The Love of Christmas!

PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG: http://bookreadingtic.com/2020/12/05/... THANK YOU!

What comes to mind when thinking of Christmas? How about love, peace, joy and togetherness? All those things and more are celebrated in this tale along with charming pictures that illustrate them. Sprinkled throughout are silver highlights that give a magical glow. This hard-backed picture book will enchant youngsters while filling their spirit with all the special things that make Christmastime a delight.

Enjoy snuggles and giggles with a little one while reading and seeing a reindeer family celebrate the meaning of the season. The author wrote this story, and created the endearing pictures. They capture the happiness of family, presents and the nighttime shimmering heavens that include a giant star. This sweet 5-star book will be loved by little ones through first grade.

Candlewick Press has provided Tickmenot with a complimentary copy of, Christmas Joy, for the purpose of review.

[Alex Baugh]

Emma Dodd always writes such sweet, gentle books for the youngest readers and this one is no different. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. A doe and her young calf explore the meaning of Christmas while wandering through a wintery woodland as large sparkling snowflakes fall around them. The trees are also laden with shiny snow and bits of green peeking out, and there are snowy mountains in the distance. Mother and baby snuggle before setting off to find the rest of their reindeer family. The text is a gentle rhyme in four line stanzas, all beginning with Christmas is... and teaching baby reindeer the different meanings of Christmas - giving, family, happiness, kisses. In the end, warm and safe in her mother's embrace, baby learns that "Christmas is peace/ stars twinkling above/ a night of sweet dreams/ and a heart full of love." The digitally created illustrations use a minimum of color, lots of white and silver, and brown for the reindeer and there's even a bright green appearance of the aurora borealis. This is another tender, heartwarming Emma Dodd book.

[Mavis’s Dad]

Tis the season for sappy storytelling and this book plays its part. We follow some deer through the forest (speaking of sap) and the fawn learns that Christmas is more than just gifts and candy and parties.

Moral: Christmas should make you feel happy.

Length: This is a quick moving, lyrical story definition of Christmas, but not a real story.

Favorite Line: “Christmas is joy that’s overflowing.”

Overall Impression: These deer are very happy it’s Christmas time, since the holiday warms us all up and gives us twinkles in our eye and hearts full of joy and wonder. It’s as if every cliche from every Christmas carol ever sung is compiled into this book. I found it to be a nice reminder to breathe during this stressful time. It’s calming and rolls out at a pace that makes for pleasurable night time reading. It’s about as opposite of Sandra Boynton as you can get. But it has the same plot as one of her books, meaning there isn’t one.

[Rose Rosetree]

A pair of reindeer work at teaching toddlers the true meaning of Christmas.

FIVE STARS for the intended audience. I appreciate how some parents might not want to waste a second, having their innocent child not yet know enough about the parent's religion. This book can bring relief to parents.

PERSONALLY, THOUGH

I don't think a todder is old enough to learn about the meaning of anything, let alone the true meaning of anything.

Seems to me, this is one of the picture books that has been written mainly for the adults, not the kids.

[Janet]

The English author/illustrator, Emma Dodd, always has a loving positive story line in her titles that appeal to toddlers. This rhyming text tells of all the loving warm feelings of the Christmas story. The illustrations are lovely with the deer and their young. Every other double page spread illustration has the snow as well as accents on the trees and stars in the illustration embossed with silver accents. Lovely effect. And the illustrations were done digitally and I loved them. Digital illustrations in the hands of an artist can be very good.

[Andrew]

Dodd creates my favorite books centering around the unconditional love and sweetness between a parent and a child-- Chrismas is Joy is no exception. A baby reindeer and parent spend precious time together this holiday season, both with each other and with more of their reindeer family. The tenderness and simplicity of Dodd's work always makes my heart swell-- you can't go wrong with one of her books!

[Linda]

First published in the UK, Emma Dodd offers a poetic definition of Christmas using deer in a wintry setting to illustrate the various ideas people have of this special day. "Christmas is sharing/laughter and fun/and being with family, old and young." It would be fun to create one's own definition of special holidays and this would be a terrific mentor text.
Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy!

[Jarno]

Hi everybody. I hope you all had a good weekend.
I am back with a new update. This book is about Christmas Is Joy. It’s also about love.
It was written by Emma Dodd.
In the beginning there was snow. It was swirling around
With snowflakes.
In the middle they were all together. The daddy reindeer
And the baby one gave each other a kiss.
In the end they went to sleep. They were sleeping by
The trees.
I will be back with the next update I’m not sure when. Bye for now.

[Bella]

With knowing glitters are bad for our planet and the living things on it, I still have his association that sparkles equal Xmas. I borrowed this book from the library in Nov because it’s a new acquisition and I am looking for ward to Xmas. I am planning to renew this book and see if I could keep it through Xmas. We shall see if I get to pick up this book and read it on Xmas day.

[Heidi]

The tender poem at the heart of this book shares some of the sweet feelings and experiences that can accompany Christmas. Those feelings and experiences are illustrated using a mother and child reindeer as the focal point. The shiny paper used for snow in the air, snow on the trees, and a shining lake makes the illustrations really stand out and sparkle with life. A short, sweet celebration of the best the Christmas season has to offer.

[Katie Cat Books]

Picture book. Christmas. Reindeer.

Story: A children's "coffee table book" about the season of Christmas featuring two reindeer.

Language: Short and compact, few lines on each page, large beautiful illustrations featuring reindeer and nature with shiny effects.

Characters: One parent and one child reindeer.

I love Emma Dodd's books - beautiful to look at and heartwarming.

[Libby Hill]

This made for a great story time book for a reindeer/ caribou theme. The text is heartwarming and the illustrations are whimsical. The reindeer illustrations are varied enough to point out nonfiction facts about the species too.

My kids loved the sparkling pages and northern lights pictures. A fun holiday book for littles 0-6.

[Kelly]

There's very little in this book that shows Christmas - it's more of a wintry feel - but Christmas is mentioned enough to make it a holiday book and Christmas has the joy that maybe winter wouldn't convey. It has good rhymes and is a sweet story to give your kids.

[Jo Oehrlein]

Love the metallic silver on the pages -- it's used to good effect.

Simple story about Christmas in a non-religious way. Does say Christmas is about snow, so if that isn't part of your experience then this might not be the best.

I'd say this is aimed preschool and below. It's fairly simple.

[Abigail Laura]

Emma Dodd’s books are pure sweetness! Her Christmas one is just lovely and features the cutest reindeer and her baby! I love the simplicity of the text and the illustrations that (literally) glisten! The story is so sweet and we loved it (sons are 8&9).

[Villain E]

A parent and child reindeer enjoy the snow. The text mentions Christmas on every page, but there are none of the trappings or traditions of Christmas. It's just winter. Why not do a non-secular book about enjoying winter?

[Steph]

It’s all of us,
together, here.

<3

[Amy]

A baby reindeer and her mama celebrate some of the wonderful feelings and events surrounding the Christmas holiday. I love the sweet, beautiful illustrations.

[Roben]

A lovely, shiny book that will intrigue little ones! This focuses on the season and love of Christmas rather than specific religious aspects of the holiday.

[Jennifer Kelley]

Lovely rhyme, beautiful illustrations. Children will be dazzled by the shiny parts of the pages.

[Miss Sarah]

A beautiful baby and up soothing book about the simple beauty of things associated with Christmas.

[Arminzerella]

Cute illustrations (the adult reindeer are especially adorable), and the silver accents are nice. The rhyming text is decent, but doesn't add a whole lot. A pretty, sentimental package.