Religious, Advent
Good King Wenceslas by John Mason Neale illustrated by Christopher Manson Here's the alibris description:In exquisite, hand-painted woodcuts, artist Christopher Manson skillfully renders the medieval setting and characters of this popular Christmas carol. Biographical notes on John Mason Neale and the historical King Wenceslas, along with complete music and words to the carol, are included. Full color.
Yep. And St. Wenseslas' feast is Sept. 28 and "the feast of (St.) Stephen" is Dec. 26, but we read it in Advent anyway.
The True Story of Santa Claus by Paul Prokop This is the story we use as our foundation of presenting St. Nicholas and how he relates to the American Santa Claus.
The Strange Young Man in the Desert (Archbook) Many of the good Archbooks are out of print. This is the story of John the Baptist from his time in the desert to after his death.
Night of Las Posadas by Tomie de Paola
Religious, Christmas
Christ in the Old Testament by Niko Choceli This is not your typical Christmas picture book. The art is strong rather than pretty and the text is simply a theme "Victory over Death" with one page of side by side OT and NT quotes. Good for big kids.
The Innkeeper's Daughter (Archbook) This is the one starring Awful Abigail and Meangoat
Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck, ill by Felicia Bond I miss the pat and peek version of this book, but the rhymes are still nice.
Baby Jesus, Like My Brother by Margery Wheeler Brown This book follows some black children on a Christmas Eve field trip to buy gifts while their mom rests at home with their new baby brother. The older sister explains the Christmas story and relates it to their own family. The final picture is a Christmas scene featuring the mother, father, baby and 3 friends who have bought the baby gifts.
The Worst/Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson Got to love the Herdmans. We think this one is especially good on audio in The Best Barbara Robinson CD Audio Collection Ever. We think Elaine Stritch is perfect.
Jingle the Christmas Clown by Tomie de Paola Not my favorite of his, but the kids like it.
A Christmas Carol This version is abridged for kids.
Religious, Epiphany
The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
Baboushka and the Three Kings by Ruth Robbins Love the pictures
Legend of Old Befana by Tomie de Paola I relate with Old Befana. Crazy, grumpy, always sweeping....
Winter/Secular Christmas
Christmas in the Country by Cynthia Rylant
In November by Cynthia Rylant Read it before Thanksgiving so you can appreciate that in November food smells orange.
Tony's Bread by Tomie de Paola Again, not his best, but any excuse to eat panetonne....
Harold's Trip to the North Pole by Crockett Johnson Harold is a clever artist.
The Magic School Bus to the Rescue Blizzard
Snowflake Bently by It makes you want to look at snow flake by flake.
The Father Christmas Letters by JRR Tolkien
Plum Pudding for Christmas by Virginia Kahl
Cobweb Christmas One of many that tells the story of where tinsel comes from.
Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats We have this movie too.
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore We have a couple of versions of this poem. I admit to being partial to versions called "A Visit from St. Nicholas" or those that include the lines "just settled our brains" and "Donder and Blitzen". These are the things I remember being features of the version my Nana read to me, and she especially pointed out that the name is "Donder" rather than "Donner."
