Advent Calendar: Day 11

Here is a beautiful and heartwarming book for you today, in the middle of the eight days of Chanukah. There are a couple of reasons I love this book and wanted to recommend it to you. First -- look how pretty the illustrations are! The muted colors and soft tones beautifully evoke a winter night -- the first night of Chanukah as well as Christmas Eve, 1938. We meet Oskar, a newly arrived immigrant who has fled Germany in the wake of Kristallnacht -- "The Night of Broken Glass." As Oskar (who carries only a photograph and his aunt's address) walks through Manhattan toward his new home, he encounters the holiday sights and sounds of the city, and experiences several different acts of kindness. This book shows us that good people are everywhere if we are paying attention -- and that blessings abound even in times that seem dark.

Seems pretty timely to me.

Another book for your basket!

This beautiful book tells the nativity story using the language of the King James Bible. Pamela Dalton's scissor-cut illustrations are so detailed and intricate -- little ones will want to pore over every page and examine every detail. And setting the images against a dark background brings out each image with startling crispness.

This kind of book is so good for pre-readers who love to "read" for themselves -- the vivid images tell the story even if the words aren't available. And to tell the truth, when I looked through this book, I was just like a kid myself: everywhere I looked on the page there was another gorgeous detail to notice. Look at this beautiful image of the flight into Egypt, as Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus are protected from harm every step of the way. Check out that wild boar -- and the evil cactus!

Jingle Bells!

This lovely hardcover book is as much about the gorgeous pop-up illustrations as it is about the words of the festive winter song. We can all sing the song, and to tell the truth, it is such a familiar holiday tune that we sometimes forget to visualize the old-fashioned wintry fun that the song describes. But the crisp detail of these illustrations bring all the fun right back!

One thing to keep in mind about this lovely book, though, is that the pop-up detail is very intricate -- and very fragile. This is not really a book for a very young child unless you know he or she will be very careful. It would make a great keepsake -- or perhaps a gift for a family who hosts a caroling party!

It's awfully pretty, isn't it? Look at those trees! The illustrator, Niroot Puttapipat, must have the sharpest, most precise scissors in the world!

Back by quasi-popular demand: the Book Lovers' Advent Calendar!

Well, so I made it through November again, which is always nice. As some of you know, I find November to be a sketchy month, mood-wise. I'm glad it's behind me,  and I can begin to start thinking about preparing for the idea of getting ready to commence the planning for Christmas. You know me -- don't want to jump the gun.

When the urchins were little, December 1st was the day that we brought out our basket of Christmasy, wintry, holiday storybooks. In those days, if I really had my act together (a 50/50 proposition) I would also hang our family Advent calendar, and put out the merry old basket of festive Hershey's kisses. But however disorganized I was about decorating our tree, or getting twinkle lights hung, or baking the delicious holiday treats, the Advent book basket was always ready to go.

Well, the urchins are all grown up now; each attends a college somewhere on the east coast, and I won't have a full house again until later in the month. But I do have a virtual basket of Advent-y, snow-filled, Santa-loving, Bethlehem-seeking books for you, as we prepare for the Christmas season. So go make yourself a mug of hot chocolate, and then come snuggle up and read some stories with me!

Here's a sweet little book to get us started. Some of us have put our trees up already, and some of us would like to get the tree up soon but cannot seem to get our act together (Yes. It's me.) and some of us choose to put our trees up on Christmas Eve in an alarming and radical counter-cultural fashion. But no matter when your family puts up your tree, this is a story that will make you love the idea of decorating a second tree for the creatures outside your own home. Night Tree, by Eve Bunting, tells a story of a family that takes popcorn, fruit, nuts and seeds to decorate a Christmas tree in the woods for the animals to enjoy. This is a great find -- such a cozy story!