My daughters are HUGE Sofia the First fans so the second I saw there was a holiday book, I knew it would need to be on the roster for this year!From Amazon:
A snowstorm prevents King Roland from returning home in time for the holidays. Sofia leads her family on a brave expedition to find him, and shows Amber that spending the holiday with loved ones is better than any present. This beautifully illustrated hardcover jacketed picture book is perfect for the holidays, and includes a special appearance by Princess Aurora!
The story is a really simple one: The holiday is upon them and the dad goes missing. Because it's a family time, they must find him and they decide to go together. In true Disney fashion - they find him by listening to the animals.
The girlies really enjoyed - I knew they would, Sofia is their favorite character this year. I think they were a bit confused about why the holiday was called Wassailia in the book, but they understood the gist of it being a special time. I liked the lesson in giving that it had when Sofia chose to give her gifts to the children of the Woodsman who had helped the king. The girlies thought it was very nice that she would do that.
There are no religious undertones to the book, simply messages of tradition and togetherness. It fits well with the values we have tried to instil in our small family.
After reading the book, the girls were interested in looking at the pictures again for about 4 minutes and then lost interest. I will probably read it to them a few more times through the holidays but I am not sure it is in the running for favorite book. The first person dialog felt awkward in a children's book like this and I almost wonder if it might not have had more impact written in third person.
All in all - if you have a little Sofia fan in the family, this might make a nice holiday treat for them, but find it for as low of a price as possible (I think amazon.ca had the cheapest price so I bought ours there) as I think it is a little steep at over $10 - even if it IS a hardcover.
