25+Top+Holiday+Books+-+2012

My Top 25 Holiday Books – You’d think 25 holiday books would be a long list, but it was truly difficult for me to limit myself to 25. These are my top 25 books for the 2012 Holiday Season. Please remember to include a book as a part of every child’s gift list this season. Peace, Todd Cole 1__. Polar Express__ by Chris Van Allsburg - the bell that only rings for those who believe - give a bell along with the book. Go on the trip in your pjs. And sing the song to the tune of THE WHEELS ON THE BUS: The conductor on the train says, "All aboard! All aboard! All aboard!" The conductor on the train says, "All aboard", all the way to the North Pole. The wheels on the train go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the train go round and round, all the way to the North Pole. The whistle on the train goes Toot, Toot, Toot! Toot, Toot, Toot! Toot, Toot, Toot! The whistle on the train goes Toot, Toot, Toot, all the way to the North Pole. The children on the train will drink and eat, drink and eat, drink and eat. The children on the train will drink and eat, all the way to the North Pole. 2__. Carl's Christmas__ by Alexandra Day - when the wordless book came out about Carl the dog, I was thrilled. It was the age of Whole Language in the early eighties...so the young children were encouraged to write their own stories to go with the picture. I believe Carl's Christmas was the second of several more adventures. It is a keeper. 3__. Santa's Book of Names__ by David McPhail - not found in many stores, but can be purchases on Amazon. It's my absolute favorite, as an educator. Edward, a first grader, learns to read on Christmas Eve as he helps Santa deliver his gifts around the world. 4__. Welcome Comfort__ by Patricia Polacco - probably my second favorite. Welcome is the name of a foster child who doesn't believe in Santa, because he can't fathom Santa finding his home when moves from home to home so often. He's a chunky boy, made fun of his weight in school, but finds comfort in the life long friendship that he builds with the janitor of his school. It is through this friendship that his faith in Santa is restored. 5__. The Christmas Star__ by Marcus Pfister - this is written by the same author of The Rainbow Fish. I choose this as part of my top ten, because the text is rich and each page is set to illustrations similar to The Rainbow Fish. In other words, the illustrations sparkle with a silver foil. You'll see the stars in the sky shine as well as the presents on the backs of the donkeys. 6. __The Light of Christmas__ by Richard Paul Evans - this is the author of The Christmas Box - he is more popular with his adult, inspirational books, but he hits a chord with me in his Christmas picture book. Alexander had always hoped to light the torch - be chosen as The Keeper of the Flame. Each Christmas Eve one person in the village would be chosen, and he was determined for it to be him. Circumstances along his walk to the village gate prevented him from arriving on time. He had stopped to help an elderly, cold man who was very sick - everyone else passed this man by, but not Alexander. It turns out that Alexander, although without any monetary gifts, he had the best gift of all, the gift of self. All the others passed by in a hurry for Christmas, that they had forgotten "Christmas". In the end, Alexander lit the Light of Christmas that year...it was said that never before had the flame burned so brightly. 7. __The Last Straw__ by Fredrick H. Thury - I don't know of illustrations that capture the love of the baby in the manger quite as well as the illustrator, Vlasta van Kampen, in this portrayal of one proud camel's journey of carrying all of the gifts to the manger for the New Born King. The weight of all the gifts becomes beyond his strength to carry. A small child waits at the end of the journey to plead with the camel to carry the proverbial last straw to the manger, for it was all he had to offer the baby. As the boy places it on top of all the gifts, the camel falls to his knees ... it's not until the last page of the story that you realize that he falls in front of the cradle with the Baby Jesus stretching his small, gentle hand up to the camel's face. Just beautiful. 8. __The Twelve Days of Christmas__ - a favorite of many to sing when caroling along from home to home. This rendition has the same text, but the illustrations on each page show movement just with the turn of the book - through holograms the 2 Turtle Doves actually fly on the page. It's on sale for $2.99 at Ollie's...regularly $17.00! I think it will capture the eyes of the young and old. Any holiday book that has a text from a familiar song must be a part of every child's library. It encourages the emergent reader to read with confidence. 9. __The Best Christmas Pageant Ever__ by Barbara Robinson. A chapter book that I think every child should read before entering high school. Yes, it does retell the Christmas Story, but that's just part of the lesson. The Herdmans are a rough group of children who lie, steal, smoke cigars, swear and hit little children. They are bad to say the least. It's hard to allow such family of kids into the "perfect" world of the Christmas Pageant, but reluctantly they are assigned parts to play. Needless to say, the pageant takes on a whole new flavor, but teaches everyone else who is "perfect" that "perfect" is in the eye of the beholder. The language in the book can be very vulgar, so an explanation of why the Herdmans speak as they do will be in order. You can always camouflage the wording if you are reading it aloud to a younger crowd. It will still carry the message. 10__. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas__ by Clement Moore - No list is complete without the classic of all classics. I love this most for its tradition. It must be read by families across the land. It unites everyone together - young and old. So many renditions are on the sale rack at all the book stores, department stores and even Dollar Stores. Every household should have a copy, just as a Bible should be in every home. 11. __Jingle Bells: How The Holiday Classic Came To Be__ by John Harris - In a time when non-fiction is a top priority in the public education world, this historical account of the familiar song is worthy of being on anyone's list of favorites. The tune is penned by a choir director/organist of a Unitarian church during the time of slavery in Savannah, Georgia. John Lord Pierpont wishes to take his daughter back to his homeland of New England so she can experience a snow-filled holiday, taking her away from a heat wave and the fighting over the church's position on slavery in the South. Instead of whisking her away to New England, he writes the lyrics and tune to Jingle Bells to explain what a snowy scene up North is like. 12__. Auntie Claus__ by Elise Primavera- This could very well be turned into a holiday movie, because the illustrations are so descriptive and the text teaches a lesson that could easily be brought to the big screen. In a nutshell, a young, curious niece of Auntie Claus finds herself at the North Pole after hiding in her aunt's suitcase. Not knowing that her aunt was the sister of Santa, she is shocked to wind up in the land of toys and elves. Throughout her journey she stumbles upon the "BAD" list of boys and girls...she finds her brother's name on the list. In a true sense of sacrifice, she erases his name and writes her own name in the empty spot. She couldn't bare to look at her brother's face of disappointment on Christmas Morning. 13. __The Pine Tree Parable__ by Liz Curtis Higgs – A message of the true meaning of Christmas – giving! A tree farmer’s wife had saved the best tree for themselves until a poor family came to pick out their tree. 14. __The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey__ by Susan Wojciechowski – Mr. Toomey was known as Mr. Gloomey, but those in his little town did not know “his story”. He had lost his wife and child to a disease and it left him heartless. He stayed to himself and carved wooden figures for a living in his simple cabin of a home. Thomas, a young boy, finds a way to open Mr. Toomey’s heart so that he could once again live among the folk in the village and celebrate Christmas. 15__. The Crippled Lamb__ by Max Lucado – Joshua, a crippled lamb, was unable to play with the rest of the flock and felt left out. What was his purpose in life? God had a purpose for him…to keep the Baby Jesus warm in the manger. 16__. The Legend of the Candy Cane__ by Lori Walburg – The book shares the legend, but also the history of the candy cane and how it came to be. 17. __The Legend of the Poinsettia__ by Tomie dePaola – another intriguing story of how a symbol of Christmas came to be. The setting is in Mexico and the plot has a great conflict/resolution that can be used in a classroom. 18. __Santa’s Favorite Story__ by Hisako Aoki – I found this book last Christmas in a small store in Vermont. Santa tells the Story of the First Christmas. It would be a great reading for a children’s sermon with the reader dressed as Santa. 19. __Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect__ by Richard H. Schneider – A story of a family searching for the perfect tree. They discover that no tree, or any one of us, is perfect. We all suffer gaps and wounds form the struggles in life. 20. __Jackie’s Gift__ by Sharon Robinson – A true story of Jackie Robinson’s first Christmas in Brooklyn with his family. He meets a young boy, Steve, who stands up to his neighbors’ prejudice, for Jackie and his family are the first black family in the neighborhood. When Jackie tries to repay Steve by bringing him a Christmas Tree, he finds out that they don’t celebrate Christmas, because they are Jewish. It’s a story of Christmas and Hanukkah wrapped up into one. 21. __A Wish to be a Christmas Tree__ by Colleen Monroe – Never to be picked on the tree farm to be a part of a family’s Christmas, a tall tree bends over and sheds icicle tears. It’s up to the animals on the farm to decorate this tree so it can be their Christmas Tree. The illustrations are so important to the telling of this story. 22. __The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree__ by Gloria Houston – One family is chosen to bring The Christmas Tree for the church. This year it’s Ruthie’s family’s turn. Dad and Ruthie tag the tree in the summer before he goes off to war. Dad is unable to make it back in time to cut down the tree on the rocky crag of the Appalachian Mountains. So Ruthie sets out on a dangerous voyage to cut down the tree. Many sacrifices are made in order for the tree to become the best tree of all and Ruthie receives the best gift after the Christmas Eve service…her dad returns. 23. __Bear Stays Up for Christmas__ by Karma Wilson – Bear, who usually hibernates during the holidays, is determined to stay up for Christmas. His friends wake him to find a tree, decorate, hang stockings and sing songs. It’s a SURPRISE visit from someone that makes this a holiday to remember. 24. __Jingle Bells, Homework Smells__ by Diane deGroat – It’s just a silly book of how a young one puts off homework during the busiest time of the year – Christmas. Everyone will be able to relate to his conflict. 25. __The Christmas Magic__ by Lauren Thompson – This is a fine way to end my list. It’s a simple book with text that to me is priceless. “He (Santa) gazes up at the brilliant, numberless stars, and he thinks of all the children and how he loves them so.” TWO NEW ADDITIONS:

The Carpenter’s Gift – A Christmas Tale About The Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel

Santa from Cincinnati by Judi Barrett