Five buttons, five carols, and a handle so it goes where the child goes. Press and the book sings We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Deck the Halls, Bells on the Sleigh, Up on the Housetop, or I'm a Little Christmas Tree, and the icons printed on every page tell your little one which button belongs to the scene in front of them.

Singing is not decoration at this age. Melody and repetition are how a two year old holds a sequence of words in their head, which is why song books do more for early literacy than their noisy reputation suggests. This one also happens to buy a parent fifteen quiet minutes on a December afternoon, which is its own kind of gift.

Written by Holly Berry-Byrd, illustrated by Hollie Mengert, and built as a take along sound book with a textured module and a moulded handle. Ten thick pages, nine by ten inches, from the Early Bird Song Book series.