Arthur's Perfect Christmas

by Marc Brown

Arthur wants everything to be perfect for Christmas, but nothing seems to be turning out right. Finally he realizes what truly makes Christmas perfect.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Fiction, Family, Animals

48 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Marc Tolon Brown is perhaps best known for his series of children's books about Arthur the aardvark, which was turned into an animated television show on PBS. Brown is a three-time Emmy Award winner, for his role on the television show inspired by his books.

He lives on Martha's Vineyard and in New York City with his wife, Laurie Krasny Brown. He has three children, sons Tolon and Tucker, and daughter Eliza. The names of his two sons have been hidden in all of the Arthur books except for one: Arthur's Tooth.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur really has some good character development in the series and what happens to other characters with each other is complex for this grade level. It’s nice. Arthur and D. W. both want to have a perfect Christmas, but it seems like things keep getting in the way. Expectations for Christmas can be so high around this holiday. DW’s friend is Jewish and she is having a Hanukkah party the night DW invites her over and DW gets mad. There is a lot going on with Arthur’s family that he has to deal with.

In the end, everyone realizes that the day can be really good, even if it’s not perfect. I do remember as a kid, wanting everything to be just like the year before. Our family had traditions and until I hit my teenage years, I really wanted us to stick to those traditions. I was into it. Now, I grew out of that, but I know it’s a thing for some people.

I am very impressed with these Marc Brown books. He is so great at kids and family dynamics. It’s a good series. You’ll see more of them, especially the original ones.

The niece related to this as she likes her traditions right now. She has her expectations. She thought the story was good. We have a cousin who is Jewish, so she knows all about that and going to Montessori school, they teach about what many religions celebrate. She thought it was a good story about Christmas. She likes Arthur and she read this one with us. She gave this 4 stars. The nephew thought this was pretty good. He likes Arthur as he looks a little weird. He gets the different celebrations too. There wasn’t anything outstanding in this for him, so he gave it 3 stars.

[Mariah Roze · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book to my class. I was really surprised by how much this book jumped around and different follow a clear story. My students got the opportunity to watch the movie afterwords and the book was very different than the movie.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This excellent story made for a memorable Christmas television movie. One of Marc Brown's later Arthur Adventure books, Arthur's Perfect Christmas (published in 2000) tells a well-layered story featuring many of Arthur's friends and their ways of celebrating the holidays: Francine, Muffy, Buster, and the Brain. George Lundgren was added to the mix for the movie (celebrating a Swedish Santa Lucia Christmas), and I noticed several other small changes to the plot, but the book is definitely suffused with the old Marc Brown magic, and it's a pleasure to read. The story is warm, believable, and meaningful, and I fondly recommend it.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

We liked this but the TV special is better.

[The Book Crusader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly prefer the episode, since it gave us the hilarious subplot of Binky making awful homemade baked goods (Binky learned that you are supposed to take the pecans out of the shells when you make pecan pie; sugar makes brownies sweet, and you need to peel the bananas you use in banana bread).


Also, this episode reveals that the the Brain is African American and celebrates Kwanza. That makes me wonder if bears were slaves, because slavery did happen in the Arthur universe. From Phony Fern (Season 4, Episode 11):

Mr Ratburn: "So although the cotton gin was a leap in technology, it also increased the demand for inexpensive labor."


Though I don't know why they didn't say the actual word. Adventures from the Book of Virtues featured an episode about a slave, and Liberties Kids made numerous references to slavery (in fact, one of the recurring characters is a freed slave).

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: It was three days before Christmas, and Arthur wanted everything to be just right. There would be lots of snow...the perfect tree...and a delicious turkey dinner.


Premise/plot: This picture book is an adaptation of the Arthur Christmas special, Arthur's Perfect Christmas. Arthur wants a PERFECTLY perfect Christmas. D.W. wants one thing and only one thing: Tina the Talking Tabby. Muffy wants many, many, many things. Francine just wants to be heard--for a change. Baxter, well, he wants to RELAX.


My thoughts: The special features a LOT of music. That is something that can't really be conveyed through a picture book adaptation. The book does include many scenes from the special, but it is a bit more concise in terms of story. It is a WORDY book. Though the special can be enjoyed by young ones, the book may be a bit too much to read aloud in one sitting. I'm wondering if it might not have been better as a chapter book.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that the story discussed more than just Christmas. Francine celebrates Hanukkah and Brain celebrates Kwanzaa. I liked the diversity of family types as well. I did find a little bit of confusion when it would jump between storylines in a seemilngly random way. One page you are reading about Arthur and the next page you are in the middle of a conversation between Francine and Muffy, then the next page jumps back to Arthur. It was a bit jarring at times. Overall, it was fine and I think kids will like it because of the familiarity with the characters.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Arthur Christmas adventure where Arthur focuses entirely too much on having a perfect Christmas. In the story, the readers are also taken to other winter celebrations like Hannukah and Baxter Day. Kwanza and the Roman Winter Solstice are also mentioned in an attempt to be all inclusive. Most of Arthur's friends get to make an appearance in the story, which is nice. A debut appearance is made by Arthur's Uncle Fred, who ends up saving Christmas for Arthur, after Arthur's perfect present for his mother is broken.

For those familiar with the Accelerated Reader Program, this is a level 2.4 book.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because I like Arthur and he thinks it's gonna be the worst day ever and in the end it's the best.
Muffy made a party and Francine couldn't come because she was in middle of being with her family for Chanukah so Muffy got really mad because she wanted her to come so they became not friends, then Muffy said sorry so they became friends again and they each said why they like their holidays.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Arthur thinking it would awesome to relive the books of my childhood and found that I was let down. As I was reading, I was wondering why, if Francine's Hanukkah is so traditional and family oriented, the family's highlight of the holiday is going to the movies? What is up with that?

Hmm...overall, this is a very charming winter holiday story. It has something for everyone. =)

[Gina Starling · Rating 3 out of 5]

PK-2

Abook about how different families celebrate the holiday in different ways, from Hanukkah to Kwanzaa. Arthur fans never knew before that Arthur was a Christian, Francine a Jew and the Brain an African-American.

I would read this during the holiday season so that all students would feel included.

[Gitty Mandel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because Arthur's trying to make the perfect Christmas and it wasn't working out so well, while Muffy was trying to make a party and Francine was trying to tell her that she couldn't come because she had a Hannukah party at her house with her family. So in the end Muffy came and said sorry and started to share her toys with Muffy.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

D. W. is only thinking of herself, and her wonderful party. She invites her best friend, who tells her she can't come, because she will be celebrating Hanukkah. D. W. doesn't listen, and she is upset when her friend isn't at her party. Later she learns about her friend's Hanukkah celebration. Arthur's perfect Christmas has snow in the end.

[Shelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much crammed into a small book. Any of the 7 different story lines could have been written into 1 book from that characters perspective.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

good early reader, using text to relate to the television show many of the stories hae been repeated in the show.

[Alexandria K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love christmas. It's my favorite holiday.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical Arthur book, full of kid angst and humor with colorful, funny illustrations.

themes: family, friends, Christmas, gifts, Hanukkah, traditions

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a big fan of the show when I was a kid, and enjoyed this book. It was certainly a good Christmas book for children. it was very adorable!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthur and friends learn Christmas doesn't have to be "perfect" to be perfect.

[Diane in Australia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the books in my daughter's Christmas collection.

5 Stars = I love it for sentimental reasons.

[Kenson and kirra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked how they brought out that other people celebrate other things besides christmas. our family celebrates both Hanakkah and Christmas

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

An uneven attempt to explain all major December celebrations.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. I don’t think I have ever read the book before. I maybe just saw it on TV. Seeing the illustrations brings me back to my childhood though! Arthur was always such an inclusive and diverse series. This book is no different m. While Arthur and some of his friends celebrate Christmas, there are other holidays celebrated too. Francine’s family does Hanukkah. I like that they mentioned how Francine feels upset when her holiday is deemed by some characters as “not as important.” She is really hurt and luckily, her friend ends up apologizing. Misunderstandings like this happen a lot in life and I think it’s great when we can show how everyone celebrates a little differently and that is okay.

Also, Arthur wants everything to be just right for his Christmas holiday, but what if just right doesn’t happen? Can he still make the holidays memorable? Every holiday has its own story and it’s an important idea to remember that nothing has to be “perfect” as we go into the holiday season. It just has to be a time when we can enjoy ourselves.

One critique: this book skips around quite a bit and sometimes I was confused.

Overall, this is a good story with fun illustrations that kids will enjoy.

Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Day 280

[Arianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arthur's Perfect Christmas is one of the series books about Arthur life. This book its about how Arthur wanted the perfect christmas but it wasn't turning as he wanted until an unexpected guest came and changed it all. We may see how Arthur, Muffy, Francine and Buster celebrated Christmas in a different way. In a child's perspective it could help them identify that everyone has there own way to celebrate christmas and it ok to celebrate the holidays in a different way. This book is for ages 8-9.You may see a lot of text in some of the pages. The illustrations in the book are very colorful and interesting to look. The main theme in this book is acceptance at the end each of them accept the christmas they have and the importance is to be with family. I would recommend this book for children's to read because it would make them understand that doing things differently or in a different ways than others its fine.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been one to care about celebrating any holiday PERFECTLY, but in my neighborhood in Northern Virginia (and other places I've lived) some homes are really-really dominated by the attempted to create a "Perfect Christmas."

But early in this story book we find plenty of variation on that old-fashioned idea of a perfect holiday, where everybody in the land is either Catholic or Protestant, or that divorce isn't legal yet, etc. Or that there's no Kwanza.

I like this reality-based update, and I LOVE all the humor. Very distinctive characters bring their own stories about THEIR holidays.

BEST DIALOG IN THE BOOK, IMO

-- "WHERE ARE YOU?"!" Muffy shouted.
-- "Muffy," said Francine. "I told you I couldn't come because of our family Hanukkah party."
-- "But you see your family every day!" Muffy said. "Besides, Hannukkah's not as important as Christmas."
-- Francine gasped. "Well, it is to me!" She hung up.

[Mari]

Many different storylines..

buster's mom is a little out if it after the divorce. She keeps waking up and making pancakes thinking its christmas, only to go back to bed when buster says it isn't.

Brain tells him he could invent his own holiday 'baxter day' instead.. as he celebrates the invented kwanza holiday.

Muffy is incredulous that Francine won't come to her fancy party, not understanding that Francine will be celebrating Hannukah. Muffy says, you see your family everyday. Besides, hannukah is not as important as christmas. And Francine says, well, it is to me!

DW wants a talking bunny and gets something else that talks, but ends up liking it very much.

Arthur asks, can it really be a perfect christmas if there's no snow?
To which Brain says, "well, no one really knows what day Jesus was born. The holiday is in december probably because that's when Romans celebrated winter solistice." (woah !)

[Asho]

The big kids both find Arthur books entertaining right now. I'm surprised S (almost 8) doesn't feel too old for them, but he definitely doesn't yet. I think part of the appeal is with big brother Arthur, little sister DW, and a baby sister, their family looks just like ours.
We liked this Christmas story just fine, although I felt like it was pretty lengthy. My kids sat through it but wouldn't have if they were younger. Also it bounces around between the main plot and a couple of sub plots and made me wonder if perhaps this particular Arthur book is based on the plot of one of the TV episodes. All the bouncing around didn't seem to have smooth transitions.

[Imagin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt, nostalgic read. Reminded me a lot of the Arthur's Christmas special I watched when I was younger. Loved that it mentioned other holidays such as: Hanukkah & Kwanzaa.🎊 It even explained what each was about for the readers can learning experience. Also loved how the book mentioned that Christmas isn't all about presents 🎁which is great reminder for kids & others in the holiday season.🎄 I especially like the part where Buster's mom was stressing over the holidays to make sure it was perfect for his son. But he told her to relax & let Christmas be a relax day. I adored that because i can relate to wanting everything 2 be perfect for Christmas especially this year (Christmas 2020).😂🎄

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seems to be based on an Arthur episode, which I’m not a fan of because it never seems to translate well to turn tv into a book. There was a lot of jumping around. I’ve been vetting books from the library for my holiday collection and I won’t be including this one.

[_ teafunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas is stressful, Arthur knows, and perfection lies within your own perspective of things.