Hello, friends! Our book today is Halloween Boy And The Christmas Kid by Daniel Jude Miller, a delightfully unique tale of friendship.

Two baby boys are born on the same day in November and from that moment on, they share a special bond. Coming together six years later in kindergarten, they become fast friends, despite not technically having anything in common other than their day of birth. One boy loves EVERYTHING Halloween: the spooky, the creepy, the strange and scary. The other is crazy for Christmas: tinsel, evergreen, presents and Santa. Whatever season or time of year, each boy’s chosen holiday is practically all they can think about! But somehow, this suits their friendship fine – they even once tried to be like the other, but it wasn’t for them. That is, until the day find themselves in a debate over the superior holiday. Can this friendship stand the test of competing holiday cheer?

If there’s one word for this book, it is definitely “unique”! Based on a true story (a photo of two similarly holiday-decked-out boys is shown on the last page with no other explanation), Miller provides a personal twist on a timeless lesson of friendship. The boys ultimately find that despite having almost nothing in common, they can still enjoy each other’s company and encourage the other’s interests, and that’s really all friendship requires. The text is really well-constructed, using clever alliterations and paired rhyming words that make it a delight to read aloud. The illustrations are wonderfully detailed and full of silly antics and hilarious Easter eggs. The final conflict resolves a bit abruptly with too little explanation, but other than that, this was great fun. The length was fine, JJ had fun with it, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved.

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by a representative of the author in exchange for an honest review.)