Book excerpt: It’s Alice Mongoose’s first Christmas in Hawaii. She misses her family and is resigned to spending the holiday alone. Alistair Rat would love to spend Christmas with his best friend Alice, but he’s afraid that Alice has more exciting things to do than spend time with a solitary rat. Fortunately, the outspoken Cordelia Canetoad knows just what to do! The Alice Mongoose and Alistair Rat stories are classic tales of friendship, beloved to this day by children of all ages.