25 Days – Book 2: The Sweet Smell Of Christmas

Our book today fully lives up to its name as it is indeed sweet, and also quite fragrant with its scratch n’ sniff panels hinting at the many smells that accompany this special holiday. The Sweet Smell of Christmas was written by Patricia Scarry and illustrated by the endearing J. P. Miller in 1970 and lives on as a wonderful portrayal of some of the lovely traditions of the season.

Little Bear awakes one morning to his nose alerting him that something wonderful is going to happen. Christmas is coming! Six items with accompanying scents confirm to him and his little nose that Christmas will be here the next day as he prepares for its arrival with his Mother and Father.

This vintage gem came surprisingly still in tact when I stumbled upon it at a local thrift store. I was ecstatic to find all the panels still within the book even though I needed to glue most of them back into place. And each of them still holds a small portion of their scented nature which I consider a small Christmas book miracle! The special items include an apple pie fresh out of the oven, a pine tree to decorate their home, candy canes for the tree, gingerbread cookies, and even a Christmas orange from the jolly man himself! Although my favorite is definitely the hot cocoa for the visiting carolers.

The anticipation of Christmas and all the little sights and smells that hint at it are wonderfully captured in Scarry and Miller’s darling collaboration. I cannot find any information on Patricia Scarry online, but I assume and believe that she is Richard Scarry’s wife, Patricia Murphy, whom is credited with many children’s book texts and also met Scarry while working on a project together. J. P. Miller is no stranger on my bookshelf and this 70s story of Little Bear and his family drips with all the illustrated goodness that he was famous for.

Hope you are enjoying decking your halls with your household’s many sweet smells of Christmas. Does anyone else receive Christmas oranges in their stockings? I love this idea! Follow along our book adventure at 25 Days of Christmas in 2013.