Readathon: Children's Christmas Stories

I’ll be reading the enormous stack of children’s Christmas picture books for the rest of the day. I’ll read each book twice and then write a Tiny Review for each.

I’m off!



The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll written by Patricia C. McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

The family is oh-so poor, but it’s Christmas and the three girls desperately want a Baby Betty doll. Best part: Sharing is more fun than hoarding. Ages 6-10. 8.5/10.



Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear! by Don and Audrey Wood

Little Mouse has quite the stack of presents under the tree—for himself---but what about Big Hungry Bear who never gets a present and would do anything, ANYTHING, to get one? Best part: Sometimes things that look scary aren’t what they appear. Ages 2-8. 8/10.



The Best Christmas Ever by Chih-Yuah Chen

Father Bear has lost his job. Santa comes anyway, bringing things the family has lost during the year. Best part: The 3 R's of recycling. Ages 5-10. 7/10.



Tree of Cranes by Allen Say

Say tells the story of his first Christmas, when he was a boy in Japan. Serious. Thoughtful. Ages 6-10. 8.5/10.



A Pirate’s Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates and illustrated by Sebastia Serra

A fun parody of the old poem, told in pirate jargon from a pirate’s point of view. Best part: Pirates. Ages 2-10. 8.5/10



Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas written by Jane O’Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser

A wonderful new Fancy Nancy story, the best of the Fancy Nancys. Best part: Nancy’s love of big fancy words and the warmth of her family and Nancy’s ability to create beauty from bits of this and that. Ages 2-10. Girls, mostly. 9/10.



Great Joy written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

Frances is learning her lines for the Christmas pageant, but she is worried about the organ grinder and his monkey sleeping every night in the cold. Best part: Compassion. Ages 4-10. 9/10.



What Dogs Want for Christmas by Kandy Radzinski

Who could resist these adorable dogs with their letters to Santa? Best part: Wonderful dog pictures. Ages 4-10. 9/10.



The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett

Teeka must get these wild reindeer ready to pull the sleigh, but screaming at them is not working. Best part: Beautiful pictures, learning how to teach. Ages 5-10. 8/10



The Peterkins’ Christmas adapted by Elizabeth Spurr and illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin

The Peterkins are a mess. They want to surprise their neighbors and relatives with a beautiful Christmas tree, but the tree is too tall and they have no ornaments and it’s hard to play the piano sitting outside in the snow….but there is always the Lady from Philadelphia to help them. Best part: humor. Ages 8-12. 8/10.



Uncles and Antlers written by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Brian Floca

The reindeer gather, eight in all, seven uncles and one niece, clever and cool, with unique talents. Best part: Cool talents of each uncle that correspond to the number of tines on each set of antlers. Ages 8-12. 8.5/10.



How Santa Really Works by Alan Snow

All your questions about Santa are answered here. Best part: Diagrams about Santa and elves and presents, including little balloons of conversation. Ages 8-12. 8.5/10.



Snowmen at Christmas written by Caralyn Buehner and illustrated by Mark Buehner

How do snowmen celebrate Christmas? Just like we do, really. Best part: Hidden pictures to seek on each page. Ages 4-8. 8.5/10.



An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco

An old family story of the author’s. Frankie shares the sweater his sister gave him with a hobo. His father is delayed by snow and the train engineers, grateful for the meals Frankie’s family always provides, gives Frankie’s father a ride home in time for Christmas. Best part: Sharing the orange. Ages 8-12. 9/10.



Pooch on the Loose: A Christmas Adventure written by Steven Kroll and illustrated by Michael Garland

Bart loves his home, but he longs to be free. One Christmas, he escapes out the door and visits all of New York’s landmarks. Best part: Dog of Liberty. Ages 4-10. 8.5/10.



The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth written by Dandi Daley Mackall and illustrated by Deborah Chabrian

Jack longs for Christmas cookies, but his mother only has enough money to make them for the poor. As she makes the cookies, his mother tells Jack the true story of the Christmas cookie. Best part: Sharing his cookie. Ages 4-10. 8/10.

NOTE: A winter storm has unexpectedly knocked out our Internet connection. I am posting this from Starbuck’s. I’m not sure when the connection will be restored.

Readathon: Must-Read Children's Christmas Stories

I’ll start my Christmas Readathon Advent Tour stop with four must-reads.

First of all, the Christmas story from the Bible. It can be found in Matthew and Luke.

Second, The Night Before Christmas written by Clement Moore. The version I love is the pop-up by Robert Sabuda.

Third, How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.

Fourth, The Polar Express.

If you read nothing else, read these four.

NOTE: A winter storm has unexpectedly knocked out our Internet connection. I am posting this from Starbuck’s. I’m not sure when the connection will be restored.

Readathon: Ready to Read!

It’s time for Readathon.

I am also joining in the Advent Tour.

Do you see where this is going? Yes, I am going to read and review Christmas books!

I’m all set. My new Scentsy candle is putting out Christmas tree scents. Christmas carols are going on the stereo. A cold front blew through yesterday and brought snow. Snow. Yes, snow here on the Texas Gulf Coast. And I’ve accumulated an enormous stack of family Christmas books.

Only one small problem. The cold front also (apparently) knocked out our Internet connection.

So, I’m writing this on my laptop, but I will post this later.

I’m off to read!

NOTE: A winter storm has unexpectedly knocked out our Internet connection. I am posting this from Starbuck’s. I’m not sure when the connection will be restored.

Top 10 of 2009

Whew!

I'm edging toward 300 books read this year.

Hard to pick my favorites.

Okay, I'll just jump in.

Here's my list of favorite books published in 2009, along with genre:


Zeitoun (Nonfiction)


Catching Fire (Young Adult: Fantasy)


What I Thought I Knew (Memoirs)



Tales from Outer Suburbia (Graphic Novels and Manga)



Guess Again! (Children's)



Thing Around Your Neck (Contemporary Literature)



Also Known as Harper (Young Adult)



The Help (Women's Literature)



Bad Things Happen (Mystery)



The Guinea Pig Diaries (Nonfiction)

Disclaimer: Since I am serving as a Cybils judge, I purposefully omitted any children's nonfiction picture book titles (my category) from my list.
5NU3UJ2BFFFF

The Champion of Children

The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak by Tomek Bogacki



Serving on a panel for the Cybils Award has been wonderful for me; I have visited many intriguing places, I’ve learned about many fascinating events in history, and I have met many exemplary people.

Janusz Korczak is one of those exemplary people. He ran an orphanage for poor children in Poland during the Nazi years. His orphanage was a model for others. He allowed the children to make their own laws which everyone, even the adults, were expected to follow. He started a newspaper to which children were asked to contribute. He spent time with the children and taught them gardening, sports, and, most importantly, love.

The author of this book of Korczak’s life tells his story in simple words, with simple pictures. There are historical notes, author’s notes, and a list of sources and acknowledgments to provide information about how the book came about.

River of Dreams

River of Dreams: The Story of the Hudson River by Hudson Talbott



I must be honest. I was not really interested in finding and reading this book. What did I care about the Hudson River?

I was wrong. This is a fascinating story of a river and the life it has supported over the years, Native Americans, the Dutch, those who used its link with the Erie Canal, the railroaders, writers, artists, and, now, environmentalists.
The pictures are beautiful paintings. The author also includes diagrams and maps and timelines to help the reader better understand the story.

Thankfully Reading Weekend

A Kindle read.

One on CDs.

Tried this four times. Fifth time is the charm?

Poems. Good poems.

A mystery. Unusual for me.

Make a Kid Happy...Buy Him a Book for Christmas!

I'm crazy about the idea of giving everyone you know a book for Christmas...in theory....The truth is the whole thing could backfire and you could end up with fifty friends and relatives who are furious, quietly steaming because they didn't get anything they wanted for Christmas.



But can you really go wrong giving a kid a book? A book and a toy, of course.

And I've got just the list of kid Christmas book recommendations for you.




First, some words of advice:

(1) No big enormous chapter books you loved as a kid. You giftee may be a poor reader and this will just drive him farther and farther away from Book World.



(2) No big enormous classics. See above.

(3) No books made from popular tv series or celebrities (for example, skip all the awful Hannah Montana books). The cover is great, but it's the only good thing about the book.

(4) No books to teach lessons. Please don't make kids think books are just another way to sneak up on you and try to talk you into following our rules.

(5) Funny is usually best if you are not sure.


(6) Thinner is better than thick. Lots of pictures is good.
(7) Just because the book says it is a level 1 book doesn't mean
it is a level 1 book or that your giftee can read it. Read it to him one time as part of the gift (or, even better, start reading it and then leave him hanging..."I'm so sorry, but I'm out of time.")

(9) If you are not sure, stick to nonfiction with lots of pictures. Scary, if possible.

Now, the ideas:

Ages 3-8...Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus...Fancy Nancy...How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night by Jane Yolen (any of this series)...If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (any of this series)...Diary of a Worm...How I Became a Pirate...The Kissing Hand...any

 dinosaur book...any true book about
animals...Biscuit...No, David!...books about trucks and cars...David Scarry books...princess books...Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?...fairy tales...short Seuss...

Ages 6-9...Frog and Toad books...Henry and Mudge books...Mr. Putter and Tabby series...Magic Tree House series...Junie B. Jones series...A-Z Mystery series...Secrets of Droon series...Horrible Harry series...Arthur chapter books...still with the animal books or dinosaur books...joke books...fairy tales...princess books...book on CDs...In a Dark, Dark Room...

Ages 8-12...Judy Blume books...Roald Dahl books...Harry Potter series...The

 Lightning Thief series...Andrew Clemens
books...My Weird School series...Diary of a Wimpy Kid series...Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark...Series of Unfortunate Evens books...Tale of Despereaux...Spiderwick books...space books...science experiment books...joke books...Where the Sidewalk Ends...I'm Still Here in the Bathtub...Guinness Book of World Records...Ripley's Believe It or Not...download a book for his Ipod...Jack Prelutsky poetry

 
books...

I'm sure I left some great choices out, but this should be a pretty good place to start.

(Reposted from November 2008)

Horses and Space and the Human Body

We want to give children books for Christmas, right? But what can we give that can compete with all the cool toys out there?

Well, cool books, of course.

Cool books like the three I received this week in the mail. Cool subjects: Horses, space, the human body. Cool formats: 3-D, see-through layers, giant foldouts. Cool additional materials: stickers, info cards, masks.

And to those who say, That's all just bells and whistles....I say, That's the way kids learn these days. Give these and more a look-see at the publishers' website, Silver Dolphin Books.