Recommended Age: 5-8
Citation: Wells, R. (1986). Max’s Christmas. Puffin Books.
It’s Christmas, and Max has a lot of questions about Santa Claus and how Christmas works.
The Max and Ruby books never really get into Max and Ruby’s family situation but perhaps they should. Ruby is a child herself who has to act as the adult that she thinks she has to be which manifests as one who enforces arbitrary societal rules.
The way the characters dress, the symmetry of the
writing, and the art style, all harmonizes into the unified signature
style that Rosemary Wells is known for. The Paperboy (Pilkey, 2000) also paints a gentle universe that can lull one to sleep or comfort one on a weekend morning.
Overall, this story is best read at a slow place as to indulge in the pictures and unique way that Max speaks.