Book Lovers' Advent Calendar: Day Eleven

Stock photo available at DepositPhotos.

Well, so Coleen has been doing a lot of traveling with her new job, and has been hitting air traffic control conferences and symposia all over the world. She bought a pink wool coat in Paris, y'all.  Fortunately she and I wear the same size, and she's a good sharer.  Otherwise, she'd have to go back to Paris, just to buy a pink wool coat for me so we could be twins.

She goes to a lot of cool places, but the one trip that truly does make me want to tag along is the journey to Australia and New Zealand.   If I didn't love my own job so much I'd be totally jellie.  Some day I'll get there!

tangent: The hipster urchins say "jellie" all the time when they mean "green with envy" -- and I totes want to be all up in that trendy slang for shizzle, McDrizzle.  Actually, I don't know what I just said. 

Bondi Beach Surf Rescue Crew (2011), via Getty Images/Don Arnold

Well, so I  know I have a few readers from Australia and New Zealand, so I got to wondering whether those folks get annoyed or just fed up with all the wintery Christmas season books that permeate the market at this time of year, since Australians often celebrate their summery Christmas with a cookout on the beach.

 

So I thought I would look for a Christmas storybook that speaks to the way the celebration is seen on the other side of the world.  And I found this great little gem, A Bush Christmas, based on a poem written by C.J. Dennis in 1931.  It is a humorous look at an outback Christmas, where the heat of the noonday sun completes with Mum's hot oven as she puts together a "traditional" feast.  The children in this story cannot imagine a cold Christmas!  Although our world is much more connected these days, through television, movies, and social media, this look at a summery celebration will tickled your bundled up kids.

This book is not available through Amazon, but can be found at the publisher's website; the price is in Australian currency.

Elf on the Shelf: the horror continues

So here we go again with that freaking elf on the shelf.

People, I just don't know if I want to live in a world where all the mommies are required to creep around their own homes night after night, in the middle of the holy-hell-I-am-so-tired, making big-assed messes to fool the urchins into thinking that elves have gotten up to festive and naughty capers while the family sleeps. And then, of course, the mommies get to clean up the messes while the urchins frolic adorably and drink hot chocolate (made by the mommies, or made by the daddies so the mommies get to clean up that mess, too).

But apparently for some mommies, even this marathon of torture isn't enough work.  Now, it seems, it will not do merely to pull the bedraggled elf out of the storage room (if you can find him, because all the Christmas crap was hurriedly stuffed into the laundry room by mistake right before Grandma and the fabulous neighbors arrived for Easter dinner . . . oh.  Is that just me?).

This party idea comes from a perky, perky blog called

Giggles Galore

.  I'm not even kidding.

Now, I gather one must host a party to welcome the elf.

A party.  Do you believe that shit?

The blogger at

Swish Designs

does this kind of thing professionally, so I was ready to cut her a break -- until I read that the elf on her shelf arrives at the "Welcome, Elf!" celebration with gifts for the children of the home. GIFTS!

People, I weep. I mean really, I weep at the prospect of hosting a party for a doll.  This just can't be right, can it?  My fellow mommies must have been hypnotized into a frosting-covered, jingle-bells-ringing, tinsel-throwing trance.  I blame that stupid "Christmas Shoes" song.

Sisters!  I call upon you!  Rise up!  Rise up against the tyranny of the elf on the shelf!  You have nothing to lose but your red and green construction paper chains!

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Today's Advent book is

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree

, by Gloria Houston.  It is 1918, and Ruthie's father has not yet returned from the War.  So Ruthie and her mother work together to harvest and transport the town's Christmas tree -- their family's responsibility for many years.  Through Ruthie's eyes, we see how heroic and hard-working her mother is, and we learn about the values of the Appalachian community that is their home.

Book Lovers' Advent Calendar: Day Nine

I love this story, The Christmas Knight, by Jane Louise Curry.   Sir Cleges is a merry knight, who loves to open his castle to all and to feast with his poorer neighbors during the Christmas season.  But when he falls upon difficult times, his neighbors forget about him.  After Sir Cleges offers a prayer of humility, a miraculous gift allows him to make a wonderful offering to King Uther.  In return, King Uther grants Sir Cleges the title of "Christmas Knight."

I am sad to say today's book  is out of print, although it can be found at used bookstores (you know about the fabulous website at ABE Books, right?), and I bet you will be able to find it at your public library.

"School's closed -- too bad!"

So the sunny girl is feeling particularly sunny on this snowy day, because we just read those happy, happy words: "Prince William County Schools -- CLOSED, Code Red."

Of course, gone are the days when she would spend tomorrow sledding or wishing we had gotten enough snow for a big snowman. Instead my girl will sleep, then have some tea, and fool around on Tumblr, then sleep some more. 

Aren't you jealous?

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In honor of our first snowy day -- which, let's be real, has really been more of an ice/sleet day -- here is a beautiful book: Dream Snow, by Eric Carle. This charming story tells about a farmer who, on Christmas Eve, dreams of a white wonderland. Little ones will have fun finding the farmer's animals, hidden under the snow -- and will love helping the farmer give his surprise gift to his animals on Christmas Day. 

Book Lovers' Advent Calendar: Day Seven

 

Today's book is part of a series I've talked about before.  The book -- The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper, is the second in the sequence.

 

I am recommending it today for two reasons.  First, I think it is a great Yuletide story in the old meaning of the word -- all the action takes place around the time of the winter solstice.  The novel tells the story of Will Stanton, in many (though not all) ways a typical eleven-year-old boy, who must enter into a quest to defeat the powers of the Dark -- which rises at the turning of the year.

Allusions to Celtic mythology and elements of the Arthurian legend weave their way through the novel, so that makes me happy.  I could talk for way too long about the reasons that in many ways the Arthur story can also be read as a Christmas story -- I got an A on that paper in college!  But even without knowing much about King Arthur, readers will thrill to the idea that the battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is a never-ending one -- and can turn on the hinge of a single person's actions.

The second reason I chose today to tell you about this book is that I have discovered a cool, cool thing: starting today you can be part of a Worldwide Readathon of the entire The Dark is Rising sequence!  How awesome is that?!  The organizer figured today was a good day for the event to begin, because Will Stanton is the "seventh son of a seventh son" -- see how December 7 is a fitting day to start the adventure?  The thinking is that everyone can read at his or her own pace, and we should all finish up right around December 20 -- Will's eleventh birthday, and Midwinter Eve.

No one has anything else to do this time of year, right?

NOTE:  Although it is part of a series, I think this novel can stand on its own quite well without one needing to be familiar with the previous book.  You know your kid, so you can decide whether this book is right for your family, but most readers who loved the Harry Potter books will enjoy this as well.  If you're not sure, I suggest that you read it to or with your child -- always a great thing, but especially cozy and fun in winter. With tea or cocoa. Or wine. As appropriate.

ANOTHER NOTE:  All of these book covers are from the various American and British re-printings of the book; published over forty years ago, the series has never been out of print.  Pick the cover that makes you happy -- they are all easily found online.