Customer Reviews

Merry Un-Christmas

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Young Noelle and her slew of friends - Claus, Holly, and Carol - have had it with Christmas, and are ready to celebrate a Merry Un-Christmas. For you see, in Christmas City, Texmas, Christmas is celebrated 364 days a year, which means that each day you are forced to rise early and tear into hundreds of gifts, eat huge quantities of turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, and suffer through countless holiday specials on TV. Which is why Un-Christmas is, in their opinion, the best day of the year. For it is the one day you receive mail, watch anything you'd like on TV - including "Gilligan's Island" - and go to school.

It is every child's dream to celebrate Christmas each and every day of the year, except for one, of course. However, in Mike Reiss' MERRY UN-CHRISTMAS, it is quite obvious that celebrating the beloved, festive day once a year is quite enough. Noelle is an adorable character, whose boredom with Christmas Day is understandable, as is her joy to see mail arrive, and to attend school. The Seuss-like illustrations by David Catrow lacing each and every page are delightful, and truly bring this holiday tale to life - while showcasing just how un-joyful celebrating Christmas 24/7 would be. The perfect book to get you in the spirit of Christmas - and make you appreciate the fact that it comes only once a year!

Erika Sorocco

My 6yo and 3yo daughters LOVED this book, which gives a new, funny perspective to the post-holiday season. I highly recommend it to any family whose kids love Christmas.

For Noelle, there's one day a year that she looks forward to more than any other. No, it's not Christmas, but Un-Christmas!

For Noelle and her family, who live in Christmas City, Texmas, Un-Christmas is the one and only day when things are as close to normal as they can get. Noelle can go to school (since school is closed on Christmas), the mailman can finally deliver the mail (since the post office is closed on Christmas), and she can watch regular shows on television (since Christmas is filled with holiday specials and the Grinch and Scrooge). For the family that celebrates Christmas 364 days a year, Un-Christmas is a wonderful day!

My kids thought, at first, that having Christmas every day of the year except one sounded like a wonderful idea. Until they realized that, like Noelle, they would soon have so many presents they wouldn't want to play with any of them. And that having a large Christmas dinner--the SAME Christmas dinner--every single day would start to get boring. And that the feeling of excitement and anticipation that comes on Christmas Day would, after celebrating it so many times, start to fade.

No, they decided, Noelle is right to be so happy to see Un-Christmas come. And having Christmas once a year really is enough!

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

I'm an elementary school teacher. The illustrations are great and the story is unique and yes, easy to understand for anyone. It's a perfect book to read to your children when they are sad that Christmas is over. Have your kids ever told you that they wish it could be Christmas all year long? Here's a great response to them. This book will get rid of anyone's "after Christmas blues'. I highly recommend it!

They ask for it all the time, in fact, or they did until I got fed up and hid it...!

It is a bit long, though, and at the end of the description of how wonderful un-Christmas is I no longer feel amused but more sad for Noelle.

But the nieces find it funny still, and that's what matters.

I happened to stumble across this book under the bargain section of Amazon and decided to buy it as a gift. I ultimately read this story and was utterly delighted to have read it.

The story begins with a quick description of a little girl who claims to not be a brat, for she is not happy with her gifts, and soon the audience learns that she's merely tired of having Christmas everyday! As the story continues, one may note that the artists' touch also endulges the audience with color and beauty that screams holiday spirit from corner to corner of the pages. Following the story is simple for young readers and the story invests time in explaining a daily routine of Christmas shopping until the ONE day of the year where it is not Christmas; hence, the audience has a "Merry Un-Christmas."

While the story appears (based on the cover) to be for girls only, I would recommend this book to all children under the age of seven! It is worth the price I paid on Amazon and made a wonderful gift for Christmas!

Bought 4 for young great neices and nephews..not happy with this purchase and did not even give it to them ... did not think this was a childrens book at all.. my 32 year old thought it had funny parts but also not age appropriate. Even the pictures were weird. No one would have understood it. sorry!!!

THE STORY WAS SO LACKING a LITTLE someTHING & WE KINDA DIDN'T ENJOY THE UN--- finished feeling it left us with! I know it SURE COULD HAVE BEEN A much BETTER book. (IF THE AUTHOR HADN'T (UN)INTERESTED HIMSELF RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT! AN AFFORDABLE DISSAPPOINTMENT!

Is this a takeoff on a very old story called Christmas Every Day, in which a little girl wishes it WOULD be, and it happens? And each day gets more and more tiresome as tempers flare and people run out of things to buy/give/make?