Christmas is literally one of the best times of the year, if not the BEST!

However, seeing Christmas through a child’s eyes and experience is the ultimate best.

I found the message in this book to be cute and it was also very easy to follow.

I really enjoyed this story, the illustrations and just the overall theme of it.

Christmas is a time of celebration, of gifts, of immense joy. A special time that should be unforgettable. Making memories with one another is so beautiful, and Calvin the Christmas tree thoroughly shows that.

This was such a sweet story about a little tree who finally gets his wish to be a Christmas tree. I loved reading it & the graphics were just lovely. I very strongly recommend this book to anyone, young or old.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author Stephen G. Bowling & the publisher Books Go Social for granting my request to read this very charming book. This is my honest opinion.

Oh this was such an adorable Christmas read! This brings back so many memories as a kid visiting tree farms to find the perfect tree. Great for all ages!

Calvin the Christmas Tree is a beautiful book for children of all ages. Calvin is the littlest tree at the tree farm, and all he wants is to be someone's tree... but will he be picked?

I really loved everything about this book, from the incredibly beautiful vintage-style illustrations to the moral that even the littlest ones have value and can grow up to be great (no matter what people say) to the fact that the family planted Calvin in their yard and decorated him for years to come.

Calvin is destined to become a new Christmas classic. This is the perfect gift and should be a new Christmas tradition.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read this wonderful book in return for my honest opinion.

Calvin is the littlest tree in the bunch. He is the last to be picked but ends up being the biggest over time. I love the message of this story. I loved the names of all of the trees. The illustrations were beautiful as well. Overall a great book to read to young kids especially at Christmas time.

Calvin The Christmas Tree is a cute Christmas story. I like the way the story flows and it seemed so real, even thought he story is about trees. I loved the illustrations, so pretty and gives a bit of a vintage vibe. I liked this book very much and would buy it.

Calvin the Christmas Tree is one of the most adorable Christmas stories I've ever read. Calvin is the smallest tree on the farm, but he has the same goal as every other tree there - to be picked by a family for Christmas.

His optimism and persistence carry him over a lot of doubts expressed by another tree, but eventually he does begin to feel forgotten. In the end, we find the spirit of Christmas arrives to save the day.

I found the traditionally styled illustrations to be exceptionally beautiful, and the expressions on the faces of the trees done in a cute and friendly way. I was especially impressed at how well the illustrator portrayed the snowing winds at night.

This is an absolute must for families with younger children, although I got a little misty-eyed toward the end of the book myself!

Dreams come true

Calvin the tree wants to be a Christmas tree . He is encouraged by the other trees. He ends up being the most beautiful Christmas tree of all.

I read this because I thought my great grandchildren , of which I have several, might like it. I like to buy them books and I am always searching for new ones.

I think this is a good one because it teaches that you can be what you wish even if you are smaller or weaker than others, sometimes it just takes a while.

The book also teaches about encouragement. How we should be like the kind trees that encouraged Calvin and not like the grumpy tree that discouraged him.

I can see an opportunity to introduce the words encourage a d discourage and explain what they mean and that we should always encourage others and never discourage.

I could see this book used in a classroom play to teach the meaning of encouragement and discouragement.

This was a good story with a good message. I would recommend it to anyone with small children and to teachers of small children.

Thanks to Stephen G. Bowling, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of the book for an honest review.

This is a delightful Christmas tale that will appeal to adults and children alike.

Calvin dreams of being the best Christmas tree but he is young and his branches mean he isn't as tall or strong as some of the other trees.

As Christmas draws nearer, Calvin begins to feel as though he will never be chosen to be cut down and taken to be sold in the Stumpstinkle's shop.

When he is the only tree left outside on Christmas Eve, Calvin is feeling truly sorry for himself, but then the magic of Christmas takes over and makes him believe again.

This story can be taken at face value as a heart-warming Christmas read, whereas older readers might discuss the hidden messages beneath the narrative. Either way, this is a lovely little read with glorious illustrations to accompany it.

This is a cosy little Christmas-time Children's book. I read a digital version of this book with my son. It is perfect for reading in the run up to Christmas like we did.

The book has a vintage style, with the image more traditional and I thought this gave it a really nice feel.

There is a lovely message in the book, showing children that if they keep going they can succeed, even if it feels like there is no hope. The lovely happy ending backs this message up and is full of joy.

I'd definitely recommend reading with children up to about 10. They are sure to enjoy this magical Christmas story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Books Go Social for a copy in return for an honest review.

This is a sweet children's illustrated story. It tackles the subject of being the last, or the smallest, or the "least likely to succeed", as many of us feel like we are sometimes. But it comes with good lessons that can be discussed between parents or grandparents and young children. The artwork is beautiful and the story will make the little ones want to return to it again and again. Highly recommended.

Calvin is the smallest tree at the tree farm but he remains optimistic that he will be selected a someone's Christmas tree. But when he is the last one in the lot, will someone come along and choose him? This is a cute and heart-felt story that children will enjoy. Written in Calvin's point of view, this story offers many holiday themes such as; hope, determination, bravery, and spreading the holiday spirit. Great read aloud for the holiday season!

Calvin is a tree on a Christmas tree farm. He has been wishing that he get picked so he will be a Christmas tree this year. Most of the other trees encourage him, but there is one grumpy tree that tells him he is too small and will never be chosen. When Christmas is nearing, he is the last tree left in the area, and the farmer's wife convinces her husband to take him to the lot. Well, all the other trees are selected and he is left alone on Christmas Eve. Of course the story can not end that way. First I will say that these trees are not chopped down, they are dug out and their root balls are wrapped in burlap, so they are planted and allowed to grow. We liked that Calvin never gave up and that he eventually got what he had been wishing for. We also liked the boy that found Calving and gave him a new life. It was hard to explain to the kids why we have fake trees when there are trees out there that just want to be Christmas trees, but I think they finally understood out choice. Overall, a sweet story with cute illustrations that we enjoyed.

The little tree has been looking forward to being the Christmas tree since he was just the little sapling. But everyone tells him he is too small to even hold ornaments up.

One day he finally gets pulled from the ground and put on sale, but nobody picks him and even the farmer forgets him there.

Until one special family finds him and takes him home and makes all of his wishes come through. :)

It's a lovely Christmas book for kids with beautiful illustrations. :)

Calvin the Christmas Tree by Stephen G. Bowling is heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful book. It follows the adventures of little tree, Calvin, who just wants to be picked as a Christmas tree.

He tries to be patient but it is hard for him! The book will keep little ones engaged with the colorful and nostalgic illustrations. The pictures reminded me of a classic Christmas movie. My almost four year old did not quite have the attention span to listen to the story but it was easy to use the outstanding illustrations to paraphrase the story.

I loved this sweet book and I think I can relate to Calvin too! Being patient is hard, but staying positive is a great message for everyone to learn. Calvin was an excellent example of just that as he kept singing and cheering for others as all his friends were chosen to be Christmas trees. We could learn alot from Calvin.

I was provided a free advance reader copy from Books Go Social in exchange for my honest review on Net Galley. The opinions shared in this review are my own.

This is a super cute and heart-warming festive story, with a really hopeful and meaningful message, of wishes, do come true if you wish and believe hard enough.

Little Tree Calvin has one wish, and that is to be a Christmas Tree and to bring joy to people during the festive period.

Living on the Christmas Tree farm he has been trying to growing big enough to be picked to be a Christmas Tree, but as he sees all his friends around him being taken and chosen our little Calvin is becoming sad and lonely that he will never be chosen. With the other’s trees encouraging him to grow (except one very old, grumpy tree) he keeps wishing.

When the day he has been wishing for finally comes, he is picked to be taken to the Christmas Tree lot…woo-hoo!! But once there, he once again sees people choosing the other bigger, stronger trees and then things go all wrong and poor Calvin is left all alone in the cold, all the trees have been sold except him.

But when he see’s headlights driving his way, is this the happy ending he has been waiting for?

Just like the front cover, the illustrations are very cute, even though on my older Kindle they did look black and white, I can image in colour they would be beautiful and I think children will love meeting Calvin and all the other tree’s.

Calvin the Christmas Tree is a sweet little story, full of festive cheer and perfect for your little ones to snuggle up with on Christmas Eve, the message of never judge at first sight and all dreams comes true is heart-warming. Like the illustrations, this is a simple story but a very cute one.

This is the sweetest story if Calvin the Christmas tree. He was the smallest tree on the lot and wished for someone to want him for their tree. I loved this story so much. The tree was cute and I really wanted him to be picked. The illustrations were beyond gorgeous- each one worthy of being worthy to be hung on a wall or part of a huge display.

This is cute for Christmas with a positive message. My rating 4.25.

Calvin is the smallest of trees on his famous Christmas tree farm. He has been waiting to grow big enough, and even though he is still small, he puffs himself up hoping to be cut and taken to town. Calvin insists that he can be a Christmas tree for the right family.

This is a sweet story that gives encouragement to even the small and especially to those who believe they can do the job and be something special. It has a nice positive message that makes a good story for children at Christmas. The story is easy to read and the images are easy and charming. I quite enjoyed the book and would be pleased to share it with my grandchildren.

Source: NetGalley 2020.

There’s a lot to like about this sweet story of Calvin, the smallest tree on the farm, who overcomes ridicule and abandonment to become the biggest, best and most famous Christmas tree of all.

It’s a story with some beautiful lessons about overcoming disappointment, never giving up, and the importance of being kind to others. And it shows that it’s okay to have ambitions, because dreams really can come true.

What I was less convinced by was the old-fashioned illustrations and language, as I think that younger children find these difficult to relate to. I read the book with my two grandsons (ages 3 and 4), and they showed little interest in the pictures, although they did listen to the story and ask questions. But they did not show the level of engagement that would make me say they absolutely loved it. This may be different for older children.

I also struggled with the names of the trees and the farmer. The former could have been funnier to represent their personalities, while the latter was just weird. I couldn’t work out if it was Farmer Stumps-tinkle or Farmer Stump-stinkle. Although, it could just as easily have been Farmer Brown as far as my boys were concerned.

And just a pointer on the language, which is American rather than British English, for anyone who considers this important.

My thanks to NetGalley and publishers Valley of Mexico for the digital review copy of this book.

This is a quirky book all about Calvin, a Christmas tree who wants to be a Christmas tree in someone’s home, but is constantly being told that he’s not big enough and not good enough. Whilst the other tress disappear with customers Calvin is still hoping his going to get picked. Calvin was very hopeful and didn’t give up at all even when things looked very bleak indeed. It’s a story to encourage children to keep going even when they feel like giving up. The book has a vintage look to it which I’m sure will appeal to grandparents and lovers of all things retro.