For the Love of Books: Christmas

Good morning!  I am just thrilled to be here today, bringing you a fantastic list of Christmas books from our very own collection.  But before I get to that, I've got a December For the Love of Books post for you all, and it boasts one of my all-time favorite, Christmas books EVER!  It was written for children ages four and up and beautifully illustrated with the vibrant colors of Mexican art.

The Legend of the Poinsettia, by Tomie dePaola, is the story of a little, Mexican girl, Lucida, whose mother is known for her weaving and asked to make a new blanket for the Christmas procession's Baby Jesus.  Lucida helps her mother pick the finest yarn and dye it the most brilliant colors, but a few days before Christmas Eve, Lucida's mother becomes ill.  Lucida tries to finish the blanket but only turns it into a tangled mess.  She feels, in her heart, that she has ruined Christmas; and when it comes time to go to the procession, Lucida cannot be found.  Her worry about not having a gift for the Baby Jesus keeps her watching the villagers walk, to the church, from the shadows.  It is there that she meets an old woman who tells her, "Any gift is beautiful because it is given."  Lucida quickly finds a simple gift that turns the town's whispers of shame, for not being able to finish the blanket, into sighs of awe, as the weeds she gifts turn into beautiful, flaming red stars.

Now, on to that list.  The last seven have been added since last year.

1. A Christmas ABC by Alice Gold
2. My First Treasury: The First Christmas by Leslie Lindecker
3. Nate the Great and the Crunchy Christmas by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
4. The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs (LOVE all of Liz's parable stories!)
5. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry (a favorite of mine)
6. The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola (another favorite of mine... It never fails to bring tears to my eyes, though.)
7. Santa's Favorite Story by Hisako Aoki (yet another favorite of mine)
8. The Berenstain Bears Trim the Tree by Jan & Mike Berenstain
9. Clifford Celebrates the Year: Clifford’s Christmas by Norman Bridwell
10. Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
11. God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren
12. Winnie the Pooh: The Merry Christmas Mystery by Betty Birney
13. When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan
14. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston (another one for which you'll need the Kleenex box)
15. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
16. Dream Snow by Eric Carle
17. Snow Happy to be Here: The Slightly Silly Story of the Snowblatt Family by Cheryl Hawkinson
18. You Can Do It, Sam by Amy Hest
19. The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas by Anne Muecke (super fun music CD with it) 
20. The Twelve Days of Christmas by Anne Geddes
21. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (This one will always be a classic.)
22. The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg (still another favorite of mine)
23. The Snow Must Go On: A Way, Way Off-Broadway Adventure by Molly Wigand
24. The Legend of the Christmas Tree by Rick Osborne (great history here)
25. Merry Christmas, Curious George by Cathy Hapka
26. If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
27. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney (great rhyme)
28. It's Christmas, David! by David Shannon
29. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
30. The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
31. On This Special Night by Claire Freedman (Ezekiel's favorite)
32. My First Read and Learn Countdown to Christmas by Mary Manz Simon
33. Bear Stays Up For Christmas by Karma Wilson
34. Mortimer's Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson (Adina's favorite)
35. The Christmas Star by Marcus Pfister
36. Charlie and the Christmas Kitty by Ree Drummond
37. The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck (My favorite phrase in this book is, "...when a gift is made by hand, all of that person's love is captured in it.  Once they give it to you, that love turns into Christmas magic.")
38. Little Golden Book: Christmas Favorites
39. A Very Marley Christmas by John Grogan (So glad we have a good dog ;)!)
40. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May
41. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell! by Lucille Colandro

I hope you find a little something here to add to your own bookcases this year.  Thanks so much for reading and for all your get-well wishes yesterday!  I'm still struggling along but cautiously optimistic that my kiddos are going to be more cooperative today than yesterday ;).  Have a terrific Tuesday!