I love the holidays-the taste of hot chocolate, the sound of Christmas carols, the smell of pine or cinnamon. It's the best. What's even better is finding a Canadian-themed Christmas book. A Porcupine in a Pine Tree, by Helaine Becker, who resides in Toronto, is possibly one of the cutest books I have ever seen for the holidays and is one that would make a great gift for anyone-child or adult, but definitely one who's Canadian.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love where I live? I love the seasons, especially the snow falling in the wintertime. I might not like hockey, per se, but I do like how it signals the beginning of new seasons, starting in the Fall, going through Winter, and ending in the Spring (although some Canadians play it year-round!). I love the wildlife; seeing a huge moose walking through the yard, or hearing about a bear wandering up into the neighbour's yard. I just think it's a beautiful and great country to live in.

Which is why I adore this book. I read it at the library I volunteer at-every year they have a book fair and end up buying new books for the library, A Porcupine in a Pine Tree being one of them. As I was going through the new books and getting them ready for the shelf, I just had to stop and read it. It's a short read, like any 12 days of Christmas book, but it's not the story that grabbed me so much as the illustrations by Werner Zimmermann. They're priceless!

Naturally, everything in the small picture book is Canadian-themed: you have the Leafs a Leaping (as in nine Toronto Maple Leafs), who are in fact leaping after the Stanley Cups, trying to catch one of them, the Mounties are marching, the bears are dancing, and the list goes on. After turning each page I'd laugh to myself at how stereotypically Canadian the whole story is-it really is a wonderful read! I'm sure some people will complain about the choice of hockey team, but when you read it to your family, you can change it to your favourite team-or it'll give you something to laugh about!

So, if you're looking for a Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for Canadian friend or family member, give this a whirl. I'm sure they'll enjoy it just as much as I did!

I thought this book was adorable. I didn't notice the "Canadian" part in the title when I purchased it, and when I sat down to read it with my three year old, I thought the Canadian spin was terrific. It is hard not to 'sing' it, instead of read it though, and my son apparently doesn't like my singing voice as he let me know!

Loved it up until the toronto maple leafs showed up in the book! I would have bought it for both of my nieces but their parents are hockey fans of other teams! Too bad you can't choose a book online with whatever hockey team you're a fan of :)

I was very dissapointed to read that this book was released after another company published a very similar book called a moose in a maple tree a few years earlier.