Merry Christmas, Stinky Face

I have to admit that I loved this book from the first time I read it but the ending confused me.  I read the last page that said, "Merry Christmas, Stinky Face" and thought, hmmm what did I miss?  Did she get something smelly on her face?  Did I skip a page?  So I read it through again, and another time just for good measure and was still baffled about the whole Stinky Face comment.  I loved the book enough though that I was willing to overlook this baffling title and ending.  Silly me!  I got online to look up this author and found out that she has a whole slew of Stinky Face books (you can listen to some of them on Lisa McCourt's site) and the best part is they have the same illustrator so they are bound to be as charming visually as they are literarily (is that a word?).

Cyd Moore is so talented.  I am so infatuated with the pictures in this book.  My favorite is by far the Christmasaurus.  The colors and the details in the pictures are so fun for me and I know my kids love it because they are QUIET and STILL the whole time I'm reading.  I love books that have that effect on my children.  Again, I'm thrilled that she is also the illustrator of the other Stinky Face books and I can't wait to read them and see the pictures that she has come up with for all the others.  On her fun, fun sight you can find coloring pages for your kids along with an interview with Cyd & Lisa.

Lisa McCourt does a great job of capturing the "what if's" that kids come up with.  I love the premise of this book too.  I always think it is so easy being a kid but after reading this book I've realized that it is really STRESSFUL when you have to prepare your parents for the worse possible scenarios...you know...just in case!  Like what if Santa loses his boots while flying in his sleigh?!  I mean what then?  It made me start to think and I wonder what would happen if my roof was too steep and Santa couldn't land on it...or if Santa developed an allergy to his beloved reindeer and had to find an all night medical clinic that could give him an allergy shot...but then what if that allergy shot made him sleepy and he flew the reindeer into a house?  It is really scary when you think about all the possibilities.

Just for fun...what is the worst possible Christmas Eve scenario you can think up?  Or what is the worst fear your little ones have about Christmas night?  I'd love to hear 'em so please leave them in the comment box!