Arthur’s Christmas Cookies by Lillian Hoban is a fun Christmas story for beginning readers. Our family has enjoyed this story for years. There’s a lot of humor and the characters in the story are very much like children at Christmastime.
Arthur is a monkey who is discouraged. He wanted to make Christmas presents for his family. He made a wooden lamp for his father but it wouldn’t stand right. He sawed off one side to get it even but he sawed off too much and then it wouldn’t stand up at all. His sister suggests that he buy presents. He’s had money trouble too. He bought some snacks which made him thirsty so he bought a soda. His last two pennies fell into a crack on the porch. (This book was originally published in 1972. Arthur spends ten cents on his soda!).
Arthur borrows his sister Violet’s Bake-E-Z oven to make cookies for his parents. He’s happy to be making something that doesn’t involve sawing. Arthur’s friend Norman comes to help. He helps gather the ingredients. The book shows the children helping. Violet’s friend Wilma comes and wants to help too. Norman and Wilma squabble and make the cookie dough fall onto the floor. Arthur sends them all out of the room. He makes special cookies for Mother and Father and for his friends too. He puts them all in the Bake-E-Z oven.
The children make hot chocolate while the wait for the cookies. The cookies seem to take a very long time to bake. When the cookies come out they are very hard. When Norman takes a bite of his cookie it makes his loose tooth fall out. The cookies are as hard as rocks and they taste salty. The children figure out that Norman handed Arthur the salt instead of the sugar.
Arthur cries because his presents never turn out right. The children figure out that he can make ornaments out of the hard salty cookies. Arthur paints his cookies and tapes a hook to the top of each one. Arthur is happy that he made a good present. All the children have more hot chocolate and help clean up the kitchen. A recipe for salt dough ornaments is included so that readers can make their own special presents.
Also See:
Stranger in the Woods – Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick
Christmas in the Big Woods – Laura Ignalls Wilder
A Doll’s Christmas – Tasha Tudor