Last of the Christmas books

 OK, last of the Christmas books with a little departure, too. 

You all know how I feel about Ryan T. Higgins' work.  His books are genius and his illustrations are hilarious, even for adults.   Bruce is a VERY grumpy bear who loves eggs.  He robs nests for them and cooks them in interesting ways.  One day he robs a goose's nest, takes the eggs home, puts them on to cook, gets distracted and when he returns the eggs have hatched.  You all know about imprinting, right? Well, Bruce the bear has now become Mother Bruce to a small flock of goslings. Exactly what Bruce does not want.  

This is the first in the Bruce books and what really launched Ryan T. Higgins.  He followed Bruce through many adventures and responsibilities with other woodland creatures.

How about this for a grumpy Santa?  But grumpy as he is he is still caught in the enthusiasm of Christmas. 

If you have any chance to find the Mother Bruce books, do.  But start with Mother Bruce, it introduces the characters that stick with the stories throughout the other books.