For the Love of Books: Christmas

Hey, y'all!  I'm just stopping in, with this month's For the Love of Books pick, a little earlier than usual, as I also wanted to share the fantastic list of children's Christmas books that grace our own library shelves, just in case you've still got a little shopping to do.  But before I get to that, I've got a seasonal treasure for you all.  It is written for children ages four to seven and beautifully illustrated in such precious, watercolored details.  It's also one of my favorite, Christmas stories for its tender and priceless lesson in humility.

Tallulah's Nutcracker, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Alexandra Boiger, is the story of a young ballerina, named Clara, who received the only Christmas present she really wanted, being picked to be a mouse in The Nutcracker for a real ballet company in a real theater.  Rehearsals took much of her time, and she didn't get "to go Christmas tree shopping with her family or catch the season's first snowflakes on her tongue."  She didn't even get to go to a holiday party, but she also didn't seem to notice.  She was too busy bragging about how busy she had been after getting picked to be a mouse in The Nutcracker.  On opening night, she didn't look elegant like a real ballerina.  "She was wearing a gray jumpsuit, ears, whiskers, and a tail... But she decided that it didn't matter."  She was going to dance as if she were the Sugar Plum Fairy herself.  When disaster strikes on stage, Clara is worried she'll never be a star; but a little encouragement, from some of the key professionals in the ballet, convinces Clara that "in ballet, embarrassing things happen all the time, but a REAL dancer keeps right on dancing."  And that's exactly what Clara did, right before she dodged her first snowball of the season.

Now, on to that list.  The last six 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. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston (another one for which you'll need the Kleenex box)
14. Dream Snow by Eric Carle
15. Snow Happy to be Here: The Slightly Silly Story of the Snowblatt Family by Cheryl Hawkinson
16. You Can Do It, Sam by Amy Hest
17. The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas by Anne Muecke (super fun music CD with it) 
18. The Twelve Days of Christmas by Anne Geddes
19. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (This one will always be a classic.)
20. The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg (still another favorite of mine)
21. The Snow Must Go On: A Way, Way Off-Broadway Adventure by Molly Wigand
22. The Legend of the Christmas Tree by Rick Osborne (great history here)
23. Merry Christmas, Curious George by Cathy Hapka
24. If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
25. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney (great rhyme)
26. It's Christmas, David! by David Shannon
27. The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
28. On This Special Night by Claire Freedman
29. My First Read and Learn Countdown to Christmas by Mary Manz Simon
30. Bear Stays Up For Christmas by Karma Wilson
31. Mortimer's Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson (Adina's favorite)
32. The Christmas Star by Marcus Pfister
33. Charlie and the Christmas Kitty by Ree Drummond (Kaden's favorite)
34. The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck (Ezekiel's favorite)
35. Little Golden Book: Christmas Favorites
36. A Very Marley Christmas by John Grogan (So glad we have a good dog ;)!)
37. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May
38. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell! by Lucille Colandro
39. Grace at Christmas by Mary Hoffman (Christmas is changed forever for a little girl reluctant to welcome strangers into her celebrations.)
40. Tacky's Christmas by Helen Lester (Gotta love that Tacky!)
41. A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz
42. The Christmas Candle by Richard Paul Evans
43. The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
44. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore (This is a Hallmark recordable storybook read by Ezekiel to Adina.  It was his gift to her for Christmas 2013.)
45. Tallulah's Nutcracker by Marilyn Singer (such a tender lesson in humility)
46. Home for Christmas by Jan Brett
47. Disney's Mickey's Christmas Carol
48. The Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas by Justine Korman (a Little Golden Book)
49. The Animals' Santa by Jan Brett
50. Santa is Coming to Kansas by Steve Smallman
51. Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini
52. The Legend of the Christmas Cookie by Dandi Daley Mackall

Thanks so much for reading!  I hope you found something here to give or add to your own bookcases this year.  We've already got a great start on our mission to, once again, get through every one of our titles before Christmas.  Wish us luck!  And have a truly blessed Christmas season!  Hugs!