Review of “Peaches and Jake Celebrate Christmas” by Paula Bailey

Score: 92/100 (9.2 out of 10)

Each pet—like each human being—is unique and special. Each has their own personality and their own inclinations.

Peach and Jake Celebrate Christmas is a fantastic and adorable demonstration of these facts, showing us that two four-legged friends of the same breed can still have very different personalities and approaches to the same or similar situations.

On one side, we have Peach, an adorable six-year-old female Goldie with a more cautious and calm personality. On the other side, we have Jake, a big, handsome eight-year-old male Goldie with a rambunctious and playful personality (ok, at least when's not trying to wake up from a night's rest). It seems clear that Jake is the kind of dog that'll sprint outside to chase and bark at squirrels. Peach, on the other hand, is the kind of dog that'll wait at the window or stand in the doorway and watch the shenanigans go down.

This book follows both Jake and Peach as they experience an exciting, eventful Christmas together. Specifically, we get to see how the two pups respond to getting two toys as Christmas presents. It is so fascinating and interesting to see how the pups react differently to these presents!

Jake reacts in his playful, rambunctious, gung-ho way. He goes to town on his squeaky toy, Mr. Moose (“Moosie”), quickly ripping it up and causing all the white stuffing to fall out of it. However, amusingly, Jake still treats Moosie like a full, complete toy even in the absence of stuffing. We found that both sweet and hilarious!

Peach reacts with caution and even apprehension, not knowing what exactly she's supposed to do with her new squeaky toy, Foxie. In the end, she resorts to just snuggling and cuddling up next to it while she naps, treating it like a teddy bear.

Something else that's really sweet and compelling are the interactions between the two dogs. Despite having very different personalities, they complement each other so well, like Yin & Yang. Peach is able to see that her big brother is tempted to sleep in, so she gently nudges him to wake up by “stretching” next to him. She is also able to see that Jake really loves to play with his Moosie, so she joins him in playing with it. Furthermore, Jake has the sensitivity and awareness to respect that Foxie is Peach's toy, and that Peach might not like him taking or playing rough with it. So, Jake actually leaves Foxie alone, helping keep it in pristine condition!

It's amazing how these dogs that are so different can also be sensitive to each other's wants and needs.

This book is a bundle of happiness, cuteness, and joy. It's not perfect, however, it has it where it matters. The photographs are fine to good. They aren't always the sharpest photographs, especially when the camera or the dogs are moving, but they're good enough for us to tell what's going on. There are times like on page 31 when the image is a bit blurry. Also, on page 9 when there appear to marks over where Peach's back is, likely caused by an accident on the smartphone, Microsoft Paint, or whatever editing software the author used.

All in all, this is a really enjoyable experience.

Check it out on Amazon!