Tag

Samuel Langley-Swain

The Christmas Next Door by T.A. Creaser, Samuel Langley-Swain & Christine Cuddihy

The majority of Christmas books focus solely on the good things about the day – family, food, presents – but as parents we know it can actually be quite stressful. There’s so much to think about and for many people Christmas can be tinged with sadness because of an empty chair at the table or the financial strain. 2020 has been awful in so many ways so these issues will no doubt be exacerbated this year.

This is why i’m glad we discovered ‘The Christmas Next Door’. It celebrates the joy of the festive season whilst acknowledging that sometimes things don’t quite go to plan!

When Grandad arrives to spend Christmas with his family everyone is very excited, but he has a few challenges to overcome before the big day arrives. Autistic Lily is anxious about being in the school play, Max is stressed about visiting Santa’s Grotto because he thinks he might be on the naughty list and Mum and Dad are running around trying to get everything prepared.

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What Wesley Wore by Samuel Langley-Swain & Ryan Sonderegger

At first glance, Westburrow Wood seems like a friendly place. All the weasels who live there look the same and they all follow the same rules so there is little for them to argue about. But then there is Wesley.

Wesley likes to wear clothes, which is unusual for a weasel, and his clothes are designed to stand out. Wesley thinks nothing of rocking a baseball cap with earmuffs, two watches, a waistcoat, some cowboy boots and a skirt. And why shouldn’t he? They’re just clothes and they’re a fun way of expressing his personality. Wesley thinks being just like everyone else is dull (and we have to admit we agree!).

The problem is that Wesley’s appearance makes the other weasel’s uncomfortable so they decide that something has to be done. They gang up on Wesley and tell him that he’s weird and needs to change.

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