Oh, Christmas Tree!

I'm not sure what to make of this one. My older children found it amusing and, don't get me wrong, it is quite humorous. However, my youngest just didn't get it and I very much doubt my Reception class will either (especially as many of them have English as an additional language). The humour is far too sophisticated for under 5s to understand yet, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I always assumed the under 5s to be Sue Hendra's target audience?I've found this to be a pattern with her last few releases though. She seems to be moving away from the simplistic stories of Nobot the Robot, Barry the Fish with Fingers, Norman the Slug with a Silly Shell and Keith the Cat with the Magic Hat, creating punchlines that are just too mature for 3/4 year olds to understand. Yet the bold, bright and inviting illustrations would very much suggest that this age group is still the target audience?There's no denying it's still an excellent children's book (and we were pleasantly surprised to receive one with a sparkly silver cover, that further adds to the Christmassy vibe of the book, rather than the pale blue cover pictured here). However, I would definitely recommend for the 5-7, Key Stage 1, age range rather than an Early Years audience.

Bought to read in EY classroom - a super addition to our Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet collection of books. Perfect for our topic 'Let's Have a Party'. The children found the ending very amusing. Lots of sparkly Christmas illustrations. A perfect book to read when decorating a Christmas tree.

Took a few reads to get into the flow of the story. Not quite at Supertato levels

Lovely funny festive story. My children loved this book.

My grandchildren liked the story at Christmas