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Christmas books at Coles Bookstore

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

I love books as you all are more than well aware, so when I was offered my first #CollectiveBias mission recently I knew it was for me.  I’ve been to visit my local independent book shop and had a good look around at the Christmas books at Coles Bookstore.

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The Christmas books at Coles Bookstore can be easily found in the Children’s section at the back of the store.  It’s a lovely book shop and children are always welcome.  Monkey and I used to pop in if we were free on Friday mornings for their children’s story time. I always buy Monkey a new Christmas themed book for Christmas.

But this year I’m taking the idea a bit further.  I’ve heard a number of people mentioning book advents and love the idea.  Basically, you wrap up books (can be old as well as new) and each morning from 1st December to Christmas Day, your child unwraps one book from the pile.  The unwrapped book will be Monkey’s bedtime reading for that night.

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So with this idea in mind I set off to look around the book shop for some new additions.  I much prefer looking at books than just going online; far more inspiring. Although there are so many lovely books to look at, I tried to remain focused – Christmas themed!

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I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for, and the assistant was really helpful and mentioned a book that Monkey might enjoy.  Santa is Coming to Oxford by Steve Smallman.

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Although we don’t live in Oxford, it’s our nearest city, and the assistant advised me that our town got a mention.  Santa is Coming to Oxford is one of a series of books that are available for various cities across the country.  I’d seen them last year and had been tempted and I think the time is perfect for a 5-year-old (as he will be very soon – eek!) Monkey to really enjoy this book.

The illustrations are wonderful and Monkey is going to love the idea of Santa having a Sat Nav!  He’s also more aware now of where we live and places nearby, so I know he’s going to love reading about Santa flying over Oxfordshire.

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Next up was a book that I already had on my wish list to get for Monkey this year.  The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet & Allan Ahlberg.

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We’ve often borrowed The Jolly Postman from our local library and I’d already decided that if the Christmas version was on the shelves in the bookshop it would be coming home with me.  I’m a great believer in teaching Monkey about our family history, on my father’s side of the family we have a few postmen in our past.

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So books that we can relate our family too are always a winner here.  Also Monkey is in love with our Postlady.  So books about delivering letters will be a big hit here. I love the fact that the ‘letters’ are actually activities, such as games and puzzles.  Makes this book extra value for money in my opinion.

I was going to stop at two new additions but something caught my eye on the bookshelf. This is why I love going into shops myself as there is always the opportunity to spot a little gem.  I came across The Twelve Days of Christmas which is beautifully illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.

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The Twelves Day of Christmas is a classic Christmas song, which I love.  Takes me right back to my own childhood and the times of trying to remember all of the words.  Monkey is really good with his counting now, so this year we practice the song! This peep-through picture book is a lovely way for him to learn the song, as each page reveals slightly more characters.  I love it already, and I’m sure Monkey will too.

Other Christmas themed books that have caught my eye ……

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The Christmas Treasure Hunt by Ag Jatkowska is a wonderful lift the flap book that is much loved here and would make a great Christmas present for any little bookworm.

Charlie Crow in the Snow by Paula Metcalfe isn’t strictly Christmas themed but it’s a lovely tale of friendship during the winter time.

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore is a classic rhyming tale that is perfect for Christmas Eve.

Little Robin’s Christmas by Jan Fearnley is a heart warming tale about a Robin who gives away his warm vests to friends in need, only to find himself shivering in the cold on Christmas Eve.  Along comes Father Christmas to save the day.

The Christmas Show by Rebecca Patterson is a must for any family living through School Nativity plays this year.  It’s funny and we’ll be opening this as the first of our Christmas Advent books this year.  Monkey can read all about the little boy, who like him is a Shepherd in the school play

Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a Shirley Hughes story – Alfie’s Christmas is a wonderful tale of Alfie and his adventures as Christmas approaches.

Which books would you add to this wish list to buy a child this Christmas?  Do you make use of your independent book shop?

 

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6 thoughts on “Christmas books at Coles Bookstore

  1. I didn’t get round to applying for this one as I couldn’t think of anything other than Christmas books, and we’ve got so many of those I think N would have got a bit sick of Christmas if we’d bought even more. We have Crow in the Snow. Funny book, N quite likes it.

    I rarely go to the independent book shop in town as I think of it as being second hand only (and expensive second hand, plus they’re quite rude if you want to sell books to them). But I’ve heard quite a bit about Coles. A good shop that your town has!

    1. I wanted more for our book advent and I think there’s always something lovely about themed books. Can’t think which shop you mean, but we are really lucky here. Brackley has (or did anyway) have a lovely one too.

  2. I love the idea of the book advent. We have the Jolly Christmas Postman and E loves it. Can’t wait to start reading all of the Christmas books again this year!

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