Red and Lulu

Always add a new book or two to our children's Christmas library every year. This is a beautifully illustrated picture book that tells a charming story. Our youngest was concerned for the two birds when they were separated and we all enjoyed poring over the wonderful pictures.

Amazing and different Christmas tale. Kids loved it and so did I. Highly recommend

Just a really really lovely Christmas book for children and adults who still are children!!!

Red and Lulu are a pair of cardinal birds who live happily in a huge pine tree in a family’s back garden. They enjoy every season, but their favourite time of year is Christmas, when the family decorates their tree with pretty lights and gathers to sing their favourite song, “O Christmas Tree”. Then one day, disaster strikes – while Red is away looking for food, the tree is chopped down and taken away, with Lulu in its branches!Red follows the tree to the big city (New York), then loses sight of it and despairs of ever seeing his best friend again – until a familiar song leads him to a very familiar-looking tree, decked with thousands of colourful lights. But will he be reunited with Lulu?This is a beautiful story of friendship, told from the Red’s perspective, which is set against the background of an 80-year tradition, as explained in detail in the back matter – the tradition of bringing a near-perfect Norway spruce from the suburbs to grace the area in front of New York’s Rockefeller Center. The chosen tree is often taken from someone’s garden, as portrayed in the story.The illustrations are varied and full of delightful details. The choice of cardinals as the main characters is brilliant, as the bright Christmassy red of the male cardinal provides a striking contrast to the white of the snow and the grey of the city.I’d highly recommend Red & Lulu as an entertaining, heartwarming and eye-opening read at Christmastime.

This is such a lovely book, with such beautiful illustrations, it would make a wonderful gift for Christmas. This hardback book is a roughly A4 in size and is filled with thick, glossy pages with some beautiful colourful illustrations. The title on the cover along wit hthe author name is in shiny gold. 'Red and Lulu' is a simple story but a heartwarming one that will make you smile.Red and Lulu, two cardinal birds, love the tree they live in. Every year they nest in the tree, which stands in a family's garden, and every year they love Christmastime when the family decorate the tree and sing 'O Christmas Tree...'. But one day, when Red flies off to find breakfast, while Lulu stays in the tree, something terrible happens and the birds are separated. I won't reveal the rest of the story but will say that it focusses on Red and his quest to find Lulu.The story is a short one but it really tugged at my heartstrings. Although there is some text in the book, a lot of the tale is told simply from pictures and its these pictures that really make me love this book. Each illustration is like a work or art and they are all beautiful just to look at. The birds and the way they are drawn is very realistic and there's something about their faces that makes you want to smile. The ending of the story is a lovely one and perfect for Christmastime. It's predictably a very good end, but this is something I expected and I think everyone would enjoy it. I like the added extra page at the back of the book, the picture of the house and the tree, which goes well with the very first page of the book (before the inside title-a page some people may miss if you don't look carefully).The story of Red and Lulu, and the tree, is set in New York, which might be easy to spot if you know the New York architecture, and there's a lovely extra page at the back of the book which explains a certain Christmas tradition there which makes the whole story more special and make more sense. I especially liked this back page as I didn't know anything about this tradition and the sourcing of the tree andwhat happens in the story definitely makes more sense and feels better once you know this. On the same page at the bottom there is also some author acknowledgements which are worth reading to find out what inspired the book and this is how I learned that the birds in the book are cardinals.This is a book both adults and children will enjoy looking at. It's especially appealing if you love realistic and heartwarming pictures of animals or birds. While the story might be short and simple, it's a typical perfect story to share at Christmas and I'm sure this is one book that would be enjoyed again and again.-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy.

Red and lulu is a beautiful book full of layered meaning whether simply the origins of Christmas trees in New York's Rockefeller centre or more deeply to lessons on perseverance of love and the willingness to move on when your world falls apart and create a new happiness as long as you are together.Obviously this is an American-centric book and ideal for those with American families especially East Coast or for those who love the city that never sleeps but it still has a sweet and warm Christmassy message of family for British children too.My older daughter enjoyed this book particularly for the story of the birds being reunited, and I think it makes a nice change to the usual Christmas fare and the lovely smudgey illustrations with soft focus glowing lights are gentle, relaxing and beautiful.I especially appreciated the contextual page at the back about the trees, the Rockefeller centre and the story behind the story too.Overall a lovely 'different' but still heartwarming Christmas tale.Many Thanks to the team at walker books for the ARC.

This is a very cute Christmas book! The story is really fun and it’s beautifully illustrated.

What a gorgeous storybook! Illustrations and story are beautiful!

ES UN LIBRO HERMOSO Y DELICADO. COMPRARÉ MÁS PARA REGALOS.

Being apart from family, friendship, finding the good in the bad are all themes of this Christmas story. The story is about the Rockfeller Christmas tree and two birds. My sons love the story and observing the wordless picture pages (there are a few).

Récit très droleImagerie bien faite. ColoreeCe livre est en anglais je vais le lire et le raconter à mon petit fils..... Avec les images on comprend très bien l histoireCe livre a été un coup de cœur !!