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MNHQ

December Picture book of the month: Alfie's Christmas by Shirley Hughes

45 replies

RachelMumsnet · 02/12/2013 16:37

December Picture book of the month has already been discussed on the Mumsnet boards as a children's classic for the Christmas season. Who better to share the countdown to the big day with than Alfie and Annie Rose? In this book Alfie opens his advent calendar and makes cards and presents. He sings carols and decorates the tree.

If you would like to get your hands on one of fifty FREE copies and review, apply here before midnight on Sunday 8 December.

December Picture book of the month: Alfie's Christmas by Shirley Hughes
OP posts:
headintheclouds · 02/12/2013 19:57

Ive entered, would love to receive this to read with the children..The Alfie books are just wonderful , and bring back lots of childhood memories to share !

BackforGood · 04/12/2013 19:49

Such a lovely book - I guess my dc are a bit big now though Sad

Onesliceortwo · 04/12/2013 19:57

We love the Alfie books - Shirley Hughes is fabulous!

girlgooner · 08/12/2013 13:28

My 3 year old girl/boy twins would love to share this book with me and I'd be delighted to review it, fingers crossed.

MNHQ
AliceMumsnet · 09/12/2013 11:27

This giveaway is now closed. We will notify those who have been selected via email and they will receive a free copy of the book.

lookdeepintotheparka · 14/12/2013 21:01

Thank you very much - we got our copy today! DD has already read it 6 times!! Do we leave a review on this thread or somewhere else?

Hopezibah · 14/12/2013 21:20

Received ours today and read it straight away. What a lovely book beginning to end. A great quality Christmas gift too as it is a hard cover book.

The illustrations are truly Shirley Hughes fabulous and we could all relate to the story (having a little sister in the house and the mischief she got up to is just like we imagine our youngest little girl doing so we all had a giggle about that.)

Also familiar is the bit where the Christmas present (the space buggy) came without batteries - I think we've all been there on Christmas day too!

An enjoyable read - perfect for this festive period. thank you!

Harlequin56 · 16/12/2013 15:32

Absolutely gorgeous book, beautifully written and illustrated by Shirley Hughes. I remember my Mum reading these books to me as a child, now I have an opportunity to do the same with my daughter.

We received the book this morning, and we're already read it twice.

AHardDaysWrite · 16/12/2013 15:34

Ours has arrived this morning! Looking forward to reading it with DS when he's home from nursery - it's a beautiful book and he loves Alfie, so I think he's really going to enjoy it.

Galena · 16/12/2013 16:07

Ours arrived today too - DD loves it and has read it already all the way through. Beautiful book talking about the run up to Christmas.

boatclub · 16/12/2013 16:52

Thank you, my copy arrived today. I've had a sneeky peek and it looks lovely. I'm planning on reading it to my DSs later in the week after we've had a visit to winter wonderland. Will report back with their thoughts!

Crackers83 · 16/12/2013 17:01

Just received the book, and how beautiful it is, such a lovely story! It really describes what Christmas Day means to me. The illustrations just light up the words, and are so detailed. Love the picture of Christmas dinner. Am looking forward to reading this with my daughter x

MummyBtothree · 16/12/2013 17:08

Wow! what a beautiful book, thank you so much. Going to wrap it up for my little boy for Christmas. Thank you!!!!

AHardDaysWrite · 16/12/2013 19:56

We read it at bedtime and loved it. DS especially loved the picture of Alfie's dad getting the decorations out of the loft, as that's what his daddy did last week. He loved the part where Alfie went out on his new scooter too. A really lovely story - no dramatic events, just the small happy moments of a typical family Christmas, so lots to relate too. I love how the story is easy to understand but also introduces new vocab, like "fairy lights". We loved it - I think reading it will become a Christmas tradition in our house!

spottydottystripes · 16/12/2013 19:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Onesliceortwo · 16/12/2013 21:03

Ours has just arrived and as with all the Alfie books DD loves it. It is beautifully illustrated and tells the tale of a very traditional Christmas build up. Thank you very much!

Surf25 · 16/12/2013 22:01

We are on a wee family break down south this week but we're back on Friday and I can't wait to see if our Alfie book has arrived! We all love Alfie and Annie-Rose in our house and are all so excited to have been chosen to have a copy! Will post again once we've opened and read it!! Thank you so much, it's so exciting to be chosen and to know a new book is on it's way!

HappyAsEyeAm · 16/12/2013 22:43

Ours arrived today too. Thank you. We read it tonight. Ds said that it was his favourite Alfie book. Quite a compliment, as we have seven others and I know most of them off by heart! Alfie books are just fabulous, and neither DS nor I can get enough of them. Beautifully written, beautifully illustrated. I feel very nostalgic reading them with him, as they bring back memories of my other favourite Shirley Hughes books which are the My Naughty Little Sister books, which I absolutely adored as a child, 30 years ago.

solitudehappiness · 16/12/2013 22:48

Book arrived today, and was so excited opening it. Beautifully illustrated, and a traditional story. DD loved being read to even though she is 6 and a half months old. She got really excited. I used to read other Shirley Hughes books to DS when he was younger. Totally innocent, traditional fun. Love the fact that with this book its multi-cultural too. Its realistic of today's society. Looking forward to reading this to dd again, as she loves being read to. Thank you so much mumsnet :)

MirandaWest · 17/12/2013 11:14

8 year old DD and I enjoyed reading this at bedtime last night as we both love books by Shirley Hughes :)

Beautiful illustrations as always with her books :) I think I possibly prefer Lucy and Tom's Christmas a little more with the part where Tom is over excited and a little bit cross and goes off for a walk with Grandpa.

serendipity1980 · 17/12/2013 11:27

Thank you so much for our copy of the book. We sat down and read it after school yesterday. Our 4 and 5 yr old loved it- 5yr old son selected 27 pages that he really liked the pictures of!! It had funny parts with Annie Rose waking up cross - sounds a bit like our 4 yr old DD! Also loved the toy that didn't have batteries. Although it's a traditional story, it still felt relevant to today's children and the old fashioned style appeals to parents because it took me on a trip down memory lane - I read Shirley Hughes books when I was a child. This is a great story for Christmas and I'd highly recommend it.

Clawdy · 17/12/2013 14:27

So pleased to receive a copy of this lovely book,thank you. DGS and I read it together last night and he was poring over each picture as the simple but exciting events leading up to Christmas developed into a story. Alfie's scooter is just what DGS would love! I just wish I could have a copy of that beautiful picture of the carol-singers. A book to treasure and bring out every Christmas.

petalsandstars · 17/12/2013 19:14

Received our copy of the book today and it doesn't disappoint. A really lovely traditional story which has started to help my toddler understand the Christmas period and traditions that we have too. Looking forward to getting this out as a Christmas tradition for us in future years.

twosmallbuttons · 18/12/2013 09:58

We loved reading this. My DD (3.5 yo) has recently got into the Alfie books, having a little box set of 4 appear in her room last month :)
We could relate to all the elements in the story - she especially liked the bit about writing a letter to Santa and posting it, as that's what we'd just done the previous week.
DD already likes making up her own stories with Alfie & Annie-Rose (when she thinks I'm not listening) - it's very cute to see & hear that she enjoys them so much.

I liked the book's contemporary elements with the scooter, helmet etc. (to be honest I didn't realise it was a newly-written book...duh) but the style was kept the same, really beautifully written, simple but engaging for young children, and always stories they can relate to.

This will be a staple Christmas story now in our house :)

HazelDormouse · 18/12/2013 12:29

An excellent story, which is easy for small children to relate to and enjoy. We, like most who have read any Alfie books, adore these Shirley Hughes stories. It was good to see the Dad so actively involved in the story this time. I can not recommend it enough. Thank you.

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