Oliver All Alone

by Christine Harris, Catherine Walters (Illustrator)

Left alone by the family on Christmas Eve, an adventurous puppy begins a household hunt for the source of a strange new noise, which turns out to be a very welcome visitor with a special present just for Oliver.

Genres: Christmas, Childrens, Picture Books, Holiday

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 1994

About the author

Christine Harris is an Australian writer of children's and young-adult with works both in speculative fiction and historical fiction.

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a cute story. Not at all what I predicted. Reminds me of Home Alone.

[Candace Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a beautiful book about a puppy at Christmas guarded his house and at the end Santa came and gave him a bone perfect for little kids at Christmas.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young puppy Oliver isn't very happy to be left alone in the house on Christmas Eve whilst his family visit gran in hospital. The house is too dark and quiet without them, but the the pup heears a noise - thump thump thump - and bravely decides to explore and find out where the noise is coming from. Upstairs he finds presents on the bed and bravely attacks them and then he 'sees off' the snowman he can see out of the window. The noise doesn't stop so he investigates in the kitchen but all he finds is a large cold thing (turkey) on the table that he pulls down on to the floor before it can jump on him! In the lounge he has a fight with the Christmas tree but when he finally arrives in the dining room he finds......Santa who gives him a juicy bone, just before his family arrive home.

A gentle story, children would identify with the puppy's fears and the way he mistakes everyday objects as monsters. The illustrations use muted colours that portray the evening light very well and Oliver is just adorabel, dog lovers would just melt at the pictures of him.

[Jessie Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because it is cute, beautifully illustrated, and you can ask your child about the twist at the end to see if they understood it for better comprehension. Additionally, Oliver's favorite toy can be found hiding on every page. Beautiful story. Although reading as an adult, I am totally frustrated for Oliver's owners because they have quite the mess to clean up ;)

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite books which I read as a child. :)