Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The premise of Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story by Anne Carroll Moore (published 1924) sounds so promising. An eight-inch sprite-elf-boy (not sure exactly what he is) comes to Manhattan from the Netherlands for a Christmas to remember! After doing all sorts of Christmas shopping and visiting, he has a midnight party in the library, where
In Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson (illustrated by Jane Chapman; Margaret K. McElderry, 2007), a sweet mouse is looking for a home other than the dark and dirty hole in the wall. He finds the family’s nativity scene and moves in there. Eventually, he overhears the family talking and realizes that true meaning of
In The Night the Lights Went Out On Christmas by Ellis Paul (illustrated by Scott Brundage; Albert Whitman, 2015), a neighborhood of families have a yearly Christmas lights competition, with larger holiday displays each year. One year, however, the surge from the holiday lights causes all the world’s power to go out, and the stars
The Caldecott-winning illustrations of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton Mifflin, 1985) are only part of the magic of this Christmas story. One Christmas Eve, a young boy lies awake, listening for Santa’s sleigh bells. But he doesn’t hear bells: he hears a train. And there it is outside the door, waiting to take him
In The 12 Sleighs of Christmas by Sherri Duskey Rinker (illustrated by Jake Parker; Chronicle Books, 2017), the elves take on a design challenge when they discover that Santa’s sleigh needs repairs. The elves scramble to get something made that will work for him on Christmas Eve. In the next few days, the “sleighs” they
The Baby Santa stories by M. Maitland DeLand are both clever and also cheesy so of course, my almost 4-year-old daughter, Strawberry, loved them. A few years ago, I had the chance to review a copy of Baby Santa and the Lost Letters. This is the Christmas story my daughter still enjoys reading every year. Although
On That Christmas Night by Lois Rock and illustrated by Alison Jay tells the true story of the first Christmas, beginning with the Annunciation to Mary about her special role. I love Allison Jay’s artwork, and this book does not disappoint in that regard. It is beautiful and tells the story appropriately. There are a few times
Christmas Truce by Aaron Shepard and Wendy Edelson was a retelling of the story of the Christmas truce in 1914 in which Allied and German troops ceased fighting on Christmas Eve and began singing Christmas carols. During this unique time in the middle of the war, Christians joined in song and games. They shared stories
Wait, is that snow I see outside? Nope, it’s the sprinkler and kiddie pool. But nevertheless, it’s time for a Christmas in July book review! Santa Clauses by Bob Raczka (Carolrhoda Books, September 2014) is a great book for the upcoming holiday season. With 25 different haiku poems, Santa prepares himself and his workshop for the
The Lighthouse Santa by Sara Hoagland Hunter (illustrated by Julia Miner; New Horizons Partners, 2011) is based on the true story of the man who brought Christmas presents to the distant lighthouses along the New England coast each year. It tells of a fictionalized family in a remote location, where one Christmas a snow storm meant
Baby Santa and the Lost Letters by M. Maitland DeLand (illustrated by Phil Wilson; Greenleaf, 2011) is a rather silly tale of how Santa’s son (Baby Santa) saves Christmas by finding the missing Christmas letters, which had been sent to the South Pole instead of the North Pole. This stood out to me because it emphasizes world
For my book club this month, we decided to take it easy and read a holiday short story, since many of us feel overwhelmed and limited on time during the holiday season. We settled on “The Mansion” by Henry Van Dyke, a Christian short story about a wealthy man who has a life-changing dream, much
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