This beautiful deluxe edition marks the tenth anniversary of J.otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh's modern Christmas classic the story of a little dog named Olive with big reindeer dreams! When the book was first published in 1997, it enjoyed great reviews and has since sold more than 1 million copies. This new edition is a larger version of the original book, and it features flaps to lift, spots to scratch and sniff, and a pop-up grand finale. Designed to be a perfect holiday gift, this edition will appeal to Olive's many fans and is sure to make new ones.
You won't understand the premise of this book if you've never sung "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," so let's start there. The carol begins, "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer / had a very shiny nose / and if you ever saw it, / You would even say it glows / All of the other reindeer / used to laugh and call him names / They never let poor Rudolph / join in any reindeer games." If you notice that "all of the other reindeer" sounds suspiciously like "Olive, the other reindeer," you've discovered the source of Olive's adventures! Olive is a dog. But when she hears this holiday tune, a bit of an identity crisis sets in. She decides she must be a reindeer and heads to the North Pole to see if she can join Santa's reindeer team.
Olive gets to the North Pole just in time. Comet (the biggest reindeer) uses a piece of extra ribbon to tie Olive to the reindeers' elaborate harness system. As the sleigh rose high in the sky, "Olive was surprised it was so easy to fly." (The sight of a dog dangling beneath Santa's sleigh will reduce readers to charmed giggles.) Despite Olive's lack of flying ability and the unfortunate mishap caused by the reindeers' distraction, she, in her inherent dogginess, proves to be useful as both a flute retriever and a cookie smeller.
J. otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh have written and illustrated four splendid books for children: Mr. Lunch Takes a Plane Ride, Mr. Lunch Borrows a Canoe, Monkey Business, and Free Lunch. Publisher's Weekly's assessment of the creators' work in Free Lunch also rings true for Olive, the Other Reindeer: "Seibold and Walsh specialize in street-smart art and convoluted story-lines ... Seibold's illustration style [is] a sort of cubism for the '90s. His computer-generated, airbrush-smooth characters resemble digital icons, but their asymmetrical quality lends them a hand-drawn warmth. The spreads are abuzz with comical details." This very silly, endearing book is sure to delight your favorite kids--and adults, too. (All ages)
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
So cool pop-up:
The village at the end is spectacular and the scratch and sniffs add a cute touch. Not for wee little hands of course, but our three and five year olds loved it.
Olive the other reindeer:
Much nicer for little guys than the tv show (a little scary with the evil postman)
OLIVE THE OTHER REINDEER:
MY GRANDSON AND I BOTH LOVE THIS BOOK! VERY ENGAGING FOR THE LITTLE PERSON IN ALL OF US!
Excellent, sweet story:
The story of Olive shows us how we all have strengths and those strengths are important even if they are different from others. It can teach us to be creative on how we can best use our strengths. Most of all it is a sweet story about a very sweet dog named Olive. I loved reading it as an adult and gave it to someone who also enjoyed it very much.
