Christmas Ahoy!

CHRISTMAS AHOY! is a fun and festive story about a parade of boats decked out for the holiday. The story counts up from one to ten along the way with each boat/grouping presenting a number. The parade ends with Santa, of course, and his nine reindeer on deck waving, but he is now led by 10 flying fish!

What I loved: This is a fun nautical take on Christmas parades. The story takes place at night so that the lights really shine, and it gives it a very festive feel through the different types of boats all decked out. There are plenty of boat terms and names with backmatter that gives additional context for the types of boats to add to the educational value. With rhyming text and numbers, this is a book that will work well for toddlers and preschoolers as well as older children looking for a simple, festive read.

The font is clear throughout with a good size that makes this easy to read aloud even in lowlight conditions like bedtime. The rhyming text and darker scenes also make this a great holiday season nighttime read. The boats provide the color and magic captured in this non-religious Christmas celebration.

Final verdict: CHRISTMAS AHOY! is a delightfully nautical take on holiday celebration that will work well for toddlers and preschoolers.

Christmas Ahoy! was such a wonderful holiday read.
Dealey shows us the many different ways one could celebrate/decorated for Christmas on a variety of boats!
The decorated boats help make this book so fun and festive! Stark does a fantastic job with her illustrations, I'd love to see a boat light parade in real life!

We easily count with the boats, from zero to ten, each festively decorated as we eagerly await the arrival of Santa's boat!
The backmatter included descriptions of each of the featured boats.

This would be a great book to read with littles as you count down the days until Christmas!