Ned eating his Peekaboo book as mentioned in a previous post, it must help his gums to chew on them.

I had a work-related day in the city on Friday, and found myself with an hour to spare before I was due to catch the bus home again… Who would have thought I would appreciate an hour to myself so much! No pram or fidgety toddler to accomodate, I could jaywalk as much as I liked! (Ahh, the small pleasures…)

One of the serendipitous things was finding myself able to see the Myer Christmas windows. The Myer windows are such an institution in Melbourne, and visiting the windows is part of many families’ traditions of Christmas. Each year they represent a different theme using magnifiently produced animated figurines. This year, the theme is Graeme Base’s Uno’s Garden.

I didn’t realise but it was actually the first day they were open. And it was a perfect time to see them - there was no queue in the scorching heat, hardly any strollers to trip over or heads to try to see through. Back pre-Rowan, when we lived in the innercity, I would love to walk home past the windows after a night out when there was no-one else around.

Uno’s Garden is a great theme for the windows. I love the fact that they are based on an Australian book (as were last years Wombat Divine windows…) and that they have an ecological theme.

Uno’s Garden tells the story of Uno, who arrives one day in a beautiful forest to discover a series of strange and magical animals – Frinklepods, Lumpybums and Moopaloops, and many others. As time goes by, and with each page, more people come to the forest and buildings appear on the landscape. But as the buildings and people increase in number, the number of plants and animals decrease, until one day there is a vast city, and no more animals or plants. But the city is abandoned, and gradually the plants and animals return…

This book is part counting book, part ’search and find’ and of course a story with a moral. When I first read it, I thought it tried to do too many things, but the advantage of this is that you discover more and more things each time you read it. As with all of Graeme Base’s books (which include Animalia, The Waterhole and Jungle Drums), the illustrations are lucious and incredibly detailed. Graeme is an amazing illustator.

The windows do a fabulous job of recreating Uno’s world, although the counting aspect gets a bit lost. I especially loved the bouncing Timid Tumbletops and the chomping Snagglebites. I’m not a fan of the Myer windows playing their recording of the story. It always seems impossible to follow the recording at the right moment, and I’d love the windows to speak for themselves. Maybe that’s another reason why I recommend visiting them after hours…

I adore Christmas; I love the warmth of the weather, the smell of a live tree, blinking bud lights and Carols by Candlelight. My partner Brant thinks I’m silly and I do agree with him that the lead up to the day can be hectic but I still get excited every year and this year will be even better with Ned who will be 11 months and my gorgeous little niece Charlotte who will be 14 months. One thing I do guiltily enjoy is catalogues at this time of year especially book catalogues. I do promise that I recycle them all!!! I really enjoy seeing what bookshops have chosen as the best of the best in the biggest publishing months of the year, I like reading about things I haven’t seen yet and circling all the one’s I want to buy. Not only children’s there are always lot’s of beautiful things released, for example have a look at Maggie’s Harvest by chef Maggie Beer it is an absolutely amazing piece of publishing.

One thing that I remember my little brother and I doing as children was digging out all of our Christmas story books to read by the tree on stinking hot nights as the cicadas deafened us.

Top 5 CHRISTMAS BOOKS….

1.   It’s Christmas (Tina Burke) – This beautiful simple Christmas story is perfect for toddlers. It invokes all the lovely feelings and senses of a hot Aussie Christmas without all the kangaroos and koalas of other books. There is a real magic in this book, Burke is the most delightful illustrator whose little characters are just full of life and joy. 3 years +

2.   The Nativity (Julie Vivas) – Based on the King James version of the Bible story Vivas has created the most warm, comforting and human illustrations to accompany the text. In her paintings she brings gentleness to the story of the miracle birth of Christ which is so lovely that even if you are not religious you will appreciate. Simply divine! 4 years +

3.   The Christmas Book (Dick Bruna) – This is a very simple rendition of the Christmas story by Dick Bruna the author and illustrator most famous for the Miffy books. His style of illustration is instantly recognisable and gorgeous. Perfect for toddlers because of the simplicity it even has the most beautiful little pop out nativity scene in the back of the book which I use every year. 2 years +

4.   How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Dr. Seuss) – I love the Grinch and the moral behind this Seuss story. The Grinch is like Scrooge he hates Christmas and he hates that the Who’s of Who-Ville have such a great time doing Christmassy things each year. Grinch plots to make sure that Christmas doesn’t come so he dresses up as Santa and steals all the presents from Who-Ville. But Christmas still comes doesn’t it and the Grinch learns that maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store that maybe it means a bit more! A fantastic lesson in the true meaning of Christmas, if you can make it past the crazy Seuss rhyme – it’s hard to read aloud. There is a movie of the Grinch that stars Jim Carrey that received mixed reviews but I think it’s great; the sets and costumes are incredible and Carrey suitably adds enough grossness to the Grinch character. It is even a Broadway musical. 4 years +

5.   The Polar Express (Chris Van Allsburg) – Van Allsburg’s illustrations are incredible, they invoke such magnificent dreamy feelings as you read the story and are the reason why this has become a Christmas classic. Only available in hardcover in Australia it is a perfect keepsake for a family and would make a beautiful gift. The little boy in the story has doubts that Santa Claus is real. On Christmas Eve he is picked up by the steam train The Polar Express and transported with other doubtful children to the North Pole where he is introduced to the real Santa. The boy gets to choose a present, the first of Christmas and chooses a bell of Santa’s sleigh. This story is not twee or slushy it is award winning literature and a truly magical tale. This book has been made into a film animated by DreamWorks, it’s not my favourite adaptation the book and Van Allsburg’s paintings are far and away the best. 5 years +

I haven’t included Clement C. Moore’s poem, A Night Before Christmas in my list. It is a beautiful poem and is very traditionally Christmas. There are so many versions of the poem illustrated by different artists. If you are looking for a copy my favourite has to be illustrated by Christian Birmingham because his art is so soft and gentle and fits so perfectly with the poem.

My wonderful book loving friend Katie and I saw a fantastic thing in Borders on Friday; a pop up (Plop Up) version of The Story Of The Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business by Werner Holzworth. This is one of the most irreverent picture books EVER and hilarious. Stories about poo are always funny aren’t they? Certainly all children think it’s pretty funny - it’s probably not to everyone’s taste, however I love it! Little Mole wakes up one morning to PLOP, poo falling on his head but he’s sure it’s not his, so who did it? This begins Mole’s journey of discovery in droppings of all sorts. The pop up version graphically illustrates the animals Mole visits doing their business, it adds so much more to the story and I’m sure kids will endlessly enjoy pulling the tabs to make it happen. At $24.95 in hardcover this is a bargain for the hours of laughs it will bring.

One of the joys in my life at the moment is watching Rowan engrossed in a book. Here he is outside on the weekend. I think the book is upside down but that doesn’t really matter, hey?

Poor Ned (9 months) has been sick this week so we have been reading lots of stories to make him feel better. Our, Ned and I, favourite of the moment is Goodnight Harry by Kim Lewis. I have always loved her pastel illustrations as they are so soft and look so tactile, you feel like you can just walk into her landscapes and pat her animals. Her books are all based around English farm life, with her main series based on a border collie called Floss. The Harry in Goodnight Harry is a beautiful brown toy elephant who can’t sleep. His friends Lulu, the toy lamb and Ted, the ted, have already fallen asleep but Harry is having trouble, so thinking he is not really tired yet he decides to try and wear himself out. When that fails he lies in bed and begins to worry, this is where I can really relate to Harry as often I lie in bed and worry also, it just makes me want to hug Harry. His friends Lulu and Ted wake up and sit quietly with Harry, making him feel loved until he is ready in his own time to fall asleep. I find this picture book so touching and it’s so relevant in this day and age when it is proven that children begin to worry from a very young age. It is always nice to know that you are safe and loved – that would help anyone sleep!

The colour in this cover image is quite washed out the colours in real life are much stronger.

Top 5 GOING TO BED BOOKS…

1. Goodnight Harry (Kim Lewis) 8+ months

2. Goodnight Me (Andrew Daddo and Emma Quay) – Andrew Daddo, yes one of those Daddo brothers, wrote this for his children and now it is a delightful book. Quay brings this little orang-utan (I didn’t know they could be so cute) to life as he say goodnight to his whole body. You will giggle when he says Goodnight to his bottom! Almost like a meditation ritual this book is simple and so beautiful. 6+ months

3. The Going to Bed Book (Sandra Boynton) – Boynton is always fun and silly. This book is a lovely way to have a laugh with your bubba as her crazy animals get ready for bed in the silliest ways. 8+ months

4. Time for Bed (Men Fox and Jane Dyer) – Rhythmic like a lullaby this book is perfect for little ones going to bed. Dyer’s illustrations are the perfect companion as they picture security and comfort of mummy and daddy animals then finally the little toddler falls asleep with his mummy. 6+ months

5. Sophie’s Big Bed (Tina Burke) – Gosh, this girl’s illustration is just divine! With all her books it is not about the text as much as it is about her pictures. The children have so much expression and their smiles light up the pages. In this book Sophie is graduating from her much loved cot to a big bed and as you can see from the front cover it really is a BIG BED. 6+ months

I have found with Ned that bedtime books like these are effective in the way that you read them. Ned responds really well to the comforting and lulling tone in my voice, he looks at my mouth to see where the noise is coming from and will actually even try and reach up and touch my mouth. As I start to read it is amazing to see him physically stop and listen intently to what I’m reading, this is why I love being a mum.