Review: Clarice Bean, Think Like an Elf

Clarice Bean, Think Like an Elf by Lauren Child
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is definitely going on my list of books to get me into a cheerful mood. It's exactly the sort of thing that seems like real life the way one might wish it to be: four kids, two parents, two grandparents, school friends, and aunts and uncles and cousins, plenty of dogs, a school concert, handmade presents, sudden changes in plans, meal fiasco, etc. Of course, there is the fight between Clarice Bean and her younger brother Minal Cricket on the kitchen floor, but that ends with only one bruise and having missed the last four minutes of the Ruby Redfort Special on t.v.

***

Feel free to skip on to the next paragraph, because in this one I digress to raise a cultural issue that utterly baffles me: putting the stocking on the foot of the bed. It's a reasonable and natural place to locate actual socks in the middle of a night, without fumbling about on the floor. But how is it possible for Santa (is "Father Christmas" not used, or is this a change for the American audience?) to creep into everyone's room quietly, not disturbing the occupants, carrying gifts and candy for a specific recipient which has to be transferred into the stocking? This seems like it guarantees that Santa is going to be tripping over and bumping into stuff, and walking into bedrooms where people are still quite awake, as well as having to drag his bag all over the house, which in this case seems to have six bedrooms. It's a much less efficient system than popping into one room only. How does he do it? This troubles me more than jetting about the entire world in a day, because whereas the living room and the designated real or symbolic mantel are usually rather tidy for the holiday, bedrooms are absolutely not. That's where all the miscellany that was cluttering up the living room has been temporarily stashed, on top of the normal daily dirty clothes and such. Unless, maybe, every bedroom isn't quite as untidy as ours with boxes unpacked for 11 years, and pet stairs and whatnot. (view spoiler)[ My ADHD is really showing here, isn't it? (hide spoiler)]

***

Anyway, this would make a charming hour and a half of family entertainment for purposes of avoiding actual fights on the kitchen floor. Truly, this would become required viewing, along with The Grinch, and Miracle on 34th Street, and Die Hard, and A Wish for Wings That Work, and Muppets Christmas Carol, and Scrooged, and such.

Library copy

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