Customer Reviews

The Sweet Smell of Christmas (Scented Storybook)

5 star:		(119)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I don't remember this book as a kid, but my mom swears I had it. Now I'm 33 and I have a daughter of my own and this was given to us Christmas of 2008. It was during Christmas 2009 when she really found this book and fell in love with it, as did I reading it to her. We just love it. As other reviewers have said, this book just evokes great memories of the Christmas season. And who can not love the scratch and sniff smells.

Now here is lies the rub about this book. Only the very potent aromatic smells last at all. Pine and peppermint were still going a year later, but the rest (apple pie, gingerbread, hot chocolate, and orange) were pretty much dead. And after just one season even the pine and peppermint started to go. So what is one to do when your one of your daughter's favorite books loses its prominent scratch and sniff feature. Well you go on a sticker hunt and as of Sept 2010, I've now found them all.

Since it was so hard to find these stickers I wanted to post a review of the book and a location that other parents like me could find replacement stickers. I started my search in June 2010 and found almost all of them at the website EverythingSmells.com. The only scent that seemed non-existent was gingerbread (unless you wanted to buy 2500 stickers from a custom company or cut your own out of Target greeting cards). So I emailed the company and asked if they knew of anywhere to get gingerbread. They didn't know, but kept my email and just wrote me today to tell me that they now have a gingerbread sticker for sale! So now you can get all the stickers in one place! Mind you, they will not look like the original stickers, but at least the children don't care. It's the act of scratching and sniffing that matters to them.

So to the parents out there that bemoan the fact that the book has lost its smell--go get some stickers (with plenty of spares), paste them in, and re-enjoy the book with your children or grandchildren for all it's Christmas charm. I know we did and still do today.

As a kid, this book was my absolute favorite and I read and re-read it year after year until the scratch n' sniffs were all out of smell. This book embodies all of the wonder of the Holiday Season, as seen through the eyes of a child. What could be more wonderful than the smell of apple pie baking on Christmas Eve or of the juicy orange nestled in the top of your stocking? When this fabulous book was reissued last year, I immediately bought a copy, so that I could share it with my son, who was a little over two at the time. Reading this book brought back all of the great memories of my own childhood Christmases and my son was delighted, as well. This is truly a classic to be handed down from generation to generation.

This was my all time favorite Christmas book as a youngster. I can vividly recount the smell of little bears hot chocolat and candy cane and the Christmas Tree. The wonderful sense of anticipation that any child will share as little bear waits for Christmas morning. If only this book were in print I would definitely buy a copy for all of my children and neices and nephews to treasure as a family heirloom. My childhood copy has since been lost and I would dearly love to share this story with my children. Golden Books - Please send this wonderful story to print again.

I remember reading this book to my baby sister when she was young; ( she turns 30 this year). About at this time the scratch & sniff stickers where all the rage as well as those smelly food markers! Any way.... I am very pleased that the book has been brought back in print and I love the story. The peppermint, hot coco and orange smell so good. My only complaint is when they redid this classic why they didn't make the scratch and sniff areas larger! They are the original size that they where back when ( the size of a quarter ) and I remember we scratched the sniff right off our book. In todays world where DK publishing in my opinion RULES the Scratch & Sniff books... like Food and the Garden book, why they didn't take the time to make the scratch and sniff areas BIGGER! They have the technology and I am sure none of us who originally owned the books would have complained because they made the smelly areas bigger! That is the only reason that I gave this book a 4 star rating rather than a 5 star. I have a fondness for Patricia Scary and her husband Richard... just make the scratch and sniff areas bigger! It's a cute story about baby bear and his mama and Papa Bear, I just love Papa bear's hat on Christmas morning!

This was my favorite book as a child. Now that I have a daughter, I thought for sure that it was still at my parent's home. I was disappointed to not find it. I went to order it and it is out of print. Please publish this wonderful classic again. I would surely buy several copies for my daughter, all young relatives and one for myself. I can still smell the hot chocolate, candy canes and pine tree. This is the greatest book and deserves to be in print again to be enjoyed from generation to generation.

This book is amazing. I cannot remember a Christmas that did not involve this book, the smell of the apple pie, the pine tree, the hot cocoa, the orange, the gingerbread...I even tried to lick the stickers when I was little and had to replace them with regular scratch and sniff stickers that had the same smell! I still have mine but just as I got Angelo his own copy of Little Bunny Follows His Nose (also awesome!), I am getting him his own copy of this book for Christmas this year. I will write a note under the front cover and hope that he has this book until he can read it to his own kids someday and maybe even get them a copy of their own. I love this book and it has made fond memories for both my mother and I and I hope it will make some nice memories for my son as well! If you are looking for a book to buy for a grandchild or for someone who is expecting their first baby, this is perfect (I might even get one for my niece too!) and is a book that will start a tradition of years and years of holiday reading...and scratch and sniffing. Enjoy!

As a child, I knew it was Christmas when my mother brought out this wonderful book. I scratched and I sniffed, year after year, until all the scent was gone. Or so I thought... Last year, while unpacking a box of childhood books and toys, I ran across my copy. The fragrance is faint, but the memories are strong. What a magical feeling this book evokes, combining a charming story with scents that have lingered in my mind all these years. I just bought a copy for my own 6-year-old, and I can't wait to give it to him for Christmas!

My children went through two copies of this wonderful book. We still have one copy but it is tattered and the smells are but a memory. My daughter is trying to find as many of her childhood favorites as possible for her daughter and was very disappointed that this is now out of print. Traditions are important in our fragmented society. Please bring this book back.

The integrity of this book is seriously compromised by the new, non-descript, circular stickers. They actually obscure the illustrations that they cover. It makes me sad that what used to be a childhood favorite is now seems so cheaply made. Also, the scents are faint. If you're buying the book for the story and illustrations it is still fun. But if the scratch-n-sniff aspect is an important component(why wouldn't it be?), you'll probably be disappointed.

Some kind soul gave my 30-year-old "little" brother a copy when he was a toddler and, luckily, I happened upon a it five years ago to give to my own son. Now my brother's son is ready for his own copy! The story is simple: a young bear delights in anticipating Christmas. But the scratch-and-sniff illustrations tell the story so viscerally that many years later, I can still smell the orange in the little bear's stocking (and the gingerbread, pine bough, hot chocolate, apple pie and candy cane). This book proves that smell is our keenest memory sense. In both of our family's copies, the scent patches have all been scratched nearly through to the page. This year, my wish is that Golden Books would reprint thousands of new copies to put under next year's Christmas trees.