LUNA LOVES CHRISTMAS

A young girl has a busy holiday.

Christmas is “sometimes at Mom’s, sometimes at Dad’s,” and Luna has a pretty positive attitude about having two of everything, from Advent calendars to Christmas dinners. This year, however, they’re doing something a little different. Luna’s mom shares the upcoming Christmas schedule with Luna—a good way to help caregivers make busy holidays calmer for youngsters. Making deliveries for the food bank takes Luna and her mom all around town. Luna is already friends with one of the kids receiving food, and the two have a snowball fight. Ms. Pothers, a white-presenting food box recipient, thanks them by reading “A Christmas Story,” which disrupts the narrative flow and makes the tale a bit too long. Then it’s time to visit Dad. The two bake cookies—a nice upending of traditional gender roles—before Luna puts out her stocking and heads to bed. The next day, they head to the town hall to enjoy Christmas dinner with their diverse community. While Luna’s parents don’t interact, this is nevertheless a warm, welcoming, and much-needed depiction of divorced parents making the holiday special for their child, brought to life by cozy artwork. Luna is biracial; her mother presents as white and her father as Black. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An upbeat story of a divorced family in community at Christmas.