Ling Ling Bird Loves Christmas: celebrating the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures of the festive season

Ling Ling Bird loves Christmas!

But do you know what he likes the most?

The cake, the carols or the Christmas roast?

Join Ling Ling Bird and his family on their festive adventures as they explore a feast of sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures at this magical time of the year!

As Ling Ling Bird and his sister Lola Louise find their Christmas stockings, bake a colossal Christmas cake, wait up to see Father Christmas (you might also call him Santa Claus), open presents and pull Christmas crackers while being watched over by cheeky elves on shelves, this bright and fun festive story offers an exciting and engaging way for children to learn and practice Christmas vocabulary.

The book stars a character with hearing loss (from her personal experience with her own children, one of whom is deaf and the other typically hearing, the author believes that representation and inclusion really matter to all our children) and incorporates some subtle deaf awareness messaging, as we see Ling Ling Bird, who is deaf, putting on his cochlear implant speech processors first thing in the morning, which enables him to enjoy the many joyous sounds of Christmas.

The story goes on to explore all the five senses, as Ling Ling Bird and Lola Louise are immersed in the rich sensory experience of the holiday season: they relish the taste of their turkey dinner (and the Christmas pudding is a winner!), they love to feel the freezing snow outside and then the heat of the warming fire inside, they breathe in the sweet spicy smell of gingerbread and are entranced by the sight of the sparkling Christmas tree (not to mention the colourful gifts below!), while they listen out for the ting-a-ling-ling of Santa's sled, the church bells ringing and the festive carol singing beneath a star-filled sky.

But can you guess which is Ling Ling Bird's favourite part of Christmas? Might it be the same thing that you like best, even more than presents and treats and all the rest?