Red & Lulu
In a world where there are so many books for little kids, this is not a book I’d recommend, nor is it a book I wouldn’t recommend. It’s a descriptive story of the life of a Rockefeller Christmas tree and for that reason I imagine New Yorkers and Christmas tourists to New York might appreciate this story the most. It also might be fun for someone who lives in a warm southern climate and doesn’t know snow or tends to romanticize or dream about visiting New York one day.
Because it’s a descriptive story of life versus something imaginative or dreamy the story didn’t really engage or entertain my little one much, though my little one sat and listened to the whole story. Since it’s about the Rockefeller Christmas tree there’s no character to root for our against in the story. Red and Lulu are there the entire story but being cardinals, I don’t think most little ones relate as well as they would to something like puppies or kitties or even bears and whatnot. Cardinals just aren’t cuddly. We love and have A LOT of stuffed animals but we don’t have cardinals that cause my little one to cry if they aren’t in her bed at night.
The drawings match the descriptive nature of the story and lean more toward reality or a picture of what’s going on versus something imaginative or dreamy or colorful.
Sprinkled throughout and then in more detail at the end is the history of the Rockefeller Christmas tree. My wife and I have visited Rockefeller plaza a few times during the Christmas holidays and we found the history of the tradition to be the most interesting part of the book. But that’s more for me than for my little one.
Like many of the books in this category, I find nothing wrong with this book or story, it’s just not engaging in a way that will make it one my little one wants to hear and see over and over again.
Cautions: No worries here!
