That Aussie Christmas Book (Andrew Daddo & Terry Denton, Scholastic, $14.99 pb, ISBN 9781741690439, November) ***

As always, Daddo and Denton hit the mark with their gross humour. Sustained by clever twists, witty absurdity, comedy of errors, and modified nostalgia, it delivers regular laughs: ‘"Stop it!" Dad looked at the ceiling, so we did, too. He often looked up there, but if he ever saw anything, we couldn’t see it.". The narrative can be confusing (it reads as a nine-year-old boy speaks) and consequently the occasional sentence needs re-reading. The layout—accessible text with hyperactive illustrations from Denton appearing on every spread—manages to strike a balance between inviting reluctant readers but not putting off competent ones. That Aussie Christmas Book successfully fills a gap in the market for Christmas titles. Ideal for dipping into, the combination of short stories, jokes and mutant carols are threaded together by a first-person narrative that incriminates Daddo and his family. The consistency in style and characterisation makes it additionally accessible. The strong colloquial tone may be a bit much for some, but the voice Daddo captures rings true. Boys in the eight-to-11-year-old age group (and some parents) will respond well to this assemblage of cheekiness that maintains the magic of Christmas.

Leesa Lambert is a bookseller at The Little Bookroom

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2007, Thorpe-Bowker