December 15, 2012

Eric Hill: Spot's Magical Christmas

"Hello, Spot. I thought you were decorating the tree."
"I was, Dad, but the decorations were getting too excited."
Sam smiled. "Ah yes, they do that at this time of year."

The Spot books are well-known toddler fare. They are short, with little flaps to lift, and the same plot: Spot goes somewhere, has fun, gets very excited, gets in a little trouble, makes a new friend. If it were a TV show, it would be a sitcom. Spot's Magical Christmas is a mini-series.

Sure, Spot has fun, gets overly excited, gets in a bit of trouble ("Play outside!") and makes new friends.

Spot is "helping" with decorating, until his mother suggests he play outside. He meets two reindeer, who are looking for a big red sleigh they've lost. Santa's sleigh, of course. Then comes the search for the sleigh, the search for the reindeer, a visit to Santa's workshop, and a special thank-you present from the reindeer.

Sure, the plot is simplistic, but it imparts a number of important life lessons: when you make a mistake, fix it; helping others is fun; always say thank you.