Barney's C Is for Christmas

Rating:
Summary: Unimaginative and tone-deaf
Review: Undemanding children will be appeased by the images of Barney and dazzled by the illustrations' gaudy foil accents, but nothing in the text of this board book will awaken any appreciation of words or nourish a child's creativity.

In a couplet for each letter of the word "Christmas," the text trots out a parade of cliches, presented with a scattershot attention to rhythm. A child's delight in meter and poetry will be deferred, not encouraged, by the reading of this book. Example: "I is for ice skating on cold, icy lakes, A winter wonderland of dazzling snowflakes." Other books of verse for children include rollicking, rolling rhymes with easily discernable cadences, but these klunky, confusing lines sound awkward and stumbling.

There is no magic or spark in this flat, listless piece of work.