It’s everyone’s favorite crocodile, Lyle! And he’s here to celebrate Christmas with us this year.
Lyle loves Christmas, especially the Christmas spirit that is in the air. Everywhere he goes, people are wishing him “Merry Christmas!” and giving him big hugs. Shop owners and taxi drivers are waving at him, and even the crossing guard is extra cheery. Lyle is in seventh heaven. He loves his friends, he loves the people he lives with, the Primms – in fact, the only thing that’s wrong in Lyle’s whole life is the fact that he can’t decide what he wants for Christmas.
Lyle’s neighbor, Mr. Grumps, is not in the Christmas mood at all. He’s tried – he even put up a tree. But he just can’t get in the spirit of the whole thing. In his own words, he is having the “blahs.” His cat, Loretta, usually a very cheerful sort of cat, is feeling a bit depressed herself, with all this “blah” going on.
Everyone has tried to cheer him up, to no avail. Then one morning, he comes to the Primm’s door, very upset. Loretta is gone! She slipped out while Mr. Grumps was signing for a package, and he can’t find her.
The whole family gets into gear and goes out to search. All day and into the night, they look everywhere they can think of, but still no Loretta. At last, too tired to search any longer, they go back home and climb into bed. Lyle finally knows what he wants for Christmas – he just wants Loretta home safe and sound.
The next day, the family is back at it, handing out flyers and asking after the cat. And where is she? Well, she’s been giving some thought to running away, because Mr. Grumps has been so . . . grumpy, but now she’s lonely and wants to come back home.
To encapsulate the story, in which you’ll get to see Lyle in a frilly apron, once Mr. Grumps and Loretta are reunited, he says goodbye to the “blahs,” and everyone is happy once again. It truly is a merry Christmas after all.
(This book was published in 1998 by Houghton Mifflin and was illustrated by the author.)
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