CHRISTMAS READS

CHRISTMAS READS

13 Books We Look Forward to Every Year

I asked my 3 kids that are still at home what Christmas books do they look forward to the most in the book baskets each year? You would have thought I asked them to solve world hunger. "How can we pick?" was their response. I quickly simplified the matter by asking, " If I let each of you pick 1 book and gave the rest away, what would the 1 be?" We didn't quite get it pared down that far, but close enough. The following are our lucky 13 picks!

Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares - This delightful story tells the journey a male cardinal makes to find his mate when their home is taken to be the annual Rockefeller Christmas Tree

The Little Drummer Mouse by Mercer Mayer - The littlest mouse that no one pays attention to ends up having a very special honor at the birth of the King of Kings

The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll - When there's not enough snow in town to make snowmen the size wanted in the competition, a solution will have to be found. (This book is not your traditional, beautiful, classic style, but my kids love it, so on our list it goes!)

Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Connor and S.D. Schindler- There's a normal size family that owns a snow globe that sits on their mantel. They just don't know that a miniature family lives in the snow globe, and the miniature family is waiting for someone to shake the globe to give them a snowy play day.

Snowy Nap by Jan Brett - A little hedge hog is trying to stay awake to experience all the wonderful snowy adventures his friends tell him about.

Cranberry Christmas by Wende and Harry Devlin- When the snow falls and temperatures drop, it's time for ice skating. But wait! A crabby neighbor is claiming he owns the pond, and Mr. Whiskers can't find the deed.

Mortimer's Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson - The precious story of Mortimer Mouse who is in search of a new home. The perfect one? A nativity stable, but it's already inhabited.

Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett - If you have an Annie (like we do) who loves animals (as much as ours does), then this book is a winner! Annie's cat is missing. When she can't find her, she tries to catch a new "pet."

Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella by Jan Brett- If you own chickens you will appreciate Brett's retelling of Cinderella in chicken form!

The Mitten by Jan Brett- The delightful story of a lost mitten and all the animals who squeeze inside it for warmth.

An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polocco- This beautiful story will absolutely touch your heart about the love and generosity of Polocco's Great Uncle Frankie.

A Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polocco- This amazing story Polocco was told is true is almost too good to believe. When a church has a hole in the wall that needs repairing, and a beautiful tapestry is bought to cover it, who could have guessed that it would result in an absolute miracle.

The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers- Jeffer's illustrations are breath taking in this retelling of the Nutcracker.