Lucy's First Christmas: Lucy's Tale, Book 3 is a holiday-themed children’s picture book written by Rolynda Tassan and illustrated by Ruby Wheeler. Something special was happening in Lucy’s new home. Mom was wrapping presents and baking goodies in the oven. There was a tree standing upright in the corner of the living room and Dad was working to string Christmas lights on it. Even Ben was doing something; he was outside building a snowman. When Lucy asked Pippin, Sissy and Addy what was going on, they explained about Christmas and Santa’s imminent arrival at their home on Christmas Day. Since everyone was busy preparing for that, Lucy wanted to help prepare as well. So she tried to help with the gift-wrapping, but Mom soon shooed her away. Dad didn’t seem to need any help getting the tree trimmed either. Wasn’t there anything Lucy could do to help?

Rolynda Tassan’s holiday-themed children’s picture book, Lucy's First Christmas: Lucy's Tale, Book 3, continues the story of Lucy, the little rescue cat, who is still learning about her new home and family. Anyone who’s ever had a kitten around for tree trimming time will have a hard time not laughing at Lucy’s antics as she tries to get into the Christmas spirit and help her family. Ruby Wheeler’s colorful illustrations fit this heartwarming story perfectly. While this picture book is an ideal selection for storytime, it’s also a grand selection for a new reader. The vocabulary is simple, and the illustrations will help children guess at unfamiliar words. Lucy's First Christmas: Lucy's Tale, Book 3 is most highly recommended.

There is a lot of excitement in Lucy’s house. Mom’s baking and wrapping parcels. Dad’s putting lights on a tree. Ben is building a snowman outside. Lucy wants to know what’s going on. As a young cat, she’s not privy to all the human forms of celebrations. She’ll learn. She asks the other pets in the house and is told that tomorrow is Christmas and everyone is busy getting ready. Lucy wants to help, too. Only Lucy’s idea of helping is not very helpful. She tries to help Mom wrap presents, but only gets tangled in the ribbons. She tries to help Dad hang the lights on the tree, but she only gets tangled in the lights. She even dashes outside to help Ben build a snowman, only to end up buried in the snow. What can Lucy do to help the family get ready for Christmas.

Family pets are important members of the family. They want to feel loved and they want to feel like they belong. Sometimes, in the process of fitting in, they get into mischief. But with time, and patience, they learn and they do find the place where they belong in the family unit. Rolynda Tassan’s picture book story, Lucy’s First Christmas, tells of a young cat/kitten trying to find her place in the family’s celebrations. The language is simple, aimed to attract a young reader, and perhaps even help them with their reading skills. The colorful illustrations by Ruby Wheeler help carry the story along. What a wonderful plot, full of humorous, playful mischief, but also full of love and a sense of belonging. Well done. Another fun story from the Lucy’s Tale series.