More Christmas Books

Happy Holidays!

More Christmas books this week! Can one have too many of these? I suppose it is possible. I just have so many favorites that I want to share with you.

I had the privilege of hearing Mem Fox read from her book Wombat Divine at the International Reading Association conference about 15 years ago. It is on my must-read list each year. Australian animals are putting on their annual Nativity play and Wombat is finally old enough to be a part of the celebration. He tries out for each part in the play, but is not chosen. The animals are very loving toward him and say “There, there, Wombat. Don’t lose heart. Why not try for a different part?” Finally all the parts are assigned and Wombat doesn’t have a part. You will love the ending. It is divine!

Joe Wheeler’s Christmas in my Heart series are staples in many homes and schools. Joe compiles stories from many years ago into heartwarming books. Many of you likely have these books in your personal libraries or school libraries. Many of these stories are longer and have a higher vocabulary, but you should be able to find some great stories that you and your students will enjoy.

Silver Packages tells the story of a young Appalachian boy who waits for a train that arrives each holiday season filled with packages that are thrown to the children who wait by the tracks. He wants a particular gift, but receives other gifts instead. One time he gets a doctor’s kit and goes on to become a doctor and returns to practice medicine in his home town. Cynthia Rylant retells this classic story very well.

Tamales are a traditional Mexican Christmas dish. Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto is about a young girl helping her mother make tamales for the family celebration. She eyes her mother’s diamond ring and tries it on. Later after her cousins arrive, she realizes that the ring is missing and deduces that it must have come off in the masa mixture. The cousins eat all the tamales trying to find the ring.

Out of Print

The next titles are books that are currently out of print. Not to worry. There are some wonderful used book stores in towns and also online. Make friends with your local used book store and see if they will watch out for certain books for you. If that isn’t an option, then go to Amazon.com, Powells.com, abebooks.com, barnesandnoble.com, alibris.com, or even EBay. I keep a list of books that I want on my Palm and when I am in a used bookstore, I check to see if they have anything from my list.

Tasha Tudor has an enchanting look at life in the early 1900s with her book Becky’s Christmas. Tasha draws from her memories of her family and their celebration to bring us a glimpse back in time to when family members made gifts for each other. If you like this one, see if you can find a copy of Becky’s Birthday for more of the same. You can also try to find The Doll’s Christmas which is a small book that your children will enjoy.

One Winter’s Night by John Herman is the story of a cow looking for a place out of the snow. She travels along and finally finds a barn where she can rest and have her baby calf. The pictures of the cow are done in watercolor and are full page size. But on the text page, there are small woodcuts of a man, a woman and a donkey also traveling to find a place. They meet at the same barn and the woman has a baby. There is one final small illustration that most people miss. It is on the copyright page at the back of the book.

Moses the Kitten and The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot are favorite stories worldwide. The individual books are out of print, but you can get them in the compilation James Herriot’s Treasury for Children.

Max Lucado has three wonderful stories for Christmas. Alabaster’s Song, The Crippled Lamb, and Jacob’s Gift. The books are out of print, but I noticed on Amazon that there are videos or DVD’s of each book. You may find these books in someone’s home, too.

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do. Have a wonderful week.
Audrey