I am a major advocate for reading. Even the smell of books is enough to put me in a happy place.
This, coupled with my addiction to beautifully illustrated children's books, has amassed an impressive library of children's books. Today I am going to kick off the holiday season with my favorite Christmas reads.
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, by Susan Wojciechowski. This is my all-time favorite Christmas book. I have linked to the Amazon 1995 print. There is good reason for this. While the new books have a CD, they have done a hatchet-job of the breathtaking illustrations. It is a travesty, as the illustrations make the book extraordinary. You can see the difference against the newer copy here.
A sad, reclusive woodcarver is visited by a widow and her son. They are new to the town, and she has realized that her family nativity set is gone. She asks the woodcarver to make her a new set before Christmas. He grumpily accepts the job, and is visited the following week by the widow and her son because the boy wants to watch him carve. As the woodcarver works, the boy teaches him about his nativity set- each figure and why it was special. Slowly, as each visit approaches, the woodcarver is softened by the kindness of the widow and the joy of the boy. The illustrations are warm and heartfelt and the story is lyrical and poignant.
The Christmas Magic, by Lauren Thompson. I have to be honest here, I am a complete sucker for anything illustrated by Jon Muth. Not only are the illustrations frame-worthy, but the stories are almost always guaranteed to be spectacular. This is no exception. The story is a sweet and almost poetic narrative of Santa preparing for Christmas. This is not your 'holly, jolly Santa' story, but rather a more wise, kind, and old Santa whom you can imagine hand-carving toys of the past.
Great Joy, by Kate DiCamello. This is a touching story of a little girl, Frances, who shows great compassion and love for others. I can't do justice to the simple, beautiful story by trying to explain it. Check it out.
Some other great reads for the holiday season:
Please add your favorites below!
I'm gonna have to cave and get the Christmas Miracle this year...I tear up every time I've been through it!
ReplyDeleteSarah m