My Christmas List

Christmas books are so fun to read throughout the month of December. Kid's minds are already swirling with possibilities of what is and what could be. There are lots of great Christmas books to choose from. Here's are some of the ones I read over and over again every season:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, SPACE CASE by James Marshall. This book was published in 1986(Dial BFYR) and it's just as fun today as it ever was. Buddy McGee's friend from outer space is coming to visit for Christmas, but if Space Case doesn't get there in time things could get ugly with the spoiled rotten Goober twins from next door. I want to tell you my favorite part of this story but I don't want to give it away so you'll just have to read it yourself. Suffice it to say, my boys absolutely love this book!


AUNTIE CLAUS by Elise Primavera is a newer classic--geez, it was published in 1999(Harcourt, Inc.). Time has apparently whizzed by me with this one. I remember when it came out! Okay, enough about me getting old. So, if you don't know, Santa Claus has a fabulous sister who lives in New York. Every year she goes on a mysterious business trip from Halloween until Valentine's Day. Sophie decides she is going to find out exactly what sort of business Auntie Claus is in, so she sneaks into Auntie Claus' luggage. Sophie has quite an adventure in the North Pole and when she finally meets up with Auntie Claus again she is able to figure out the meaning of Christmas. Yes, those Kringle kids are a little bit spoiled.


I'm sure I don't even need to tell you about HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS by Dr. Seuss(Random House, 1957). I will tell you that the Grinch is pretty scary to my littlest person, and he really doesn't like that the Grinch is so mean to his dog. But since the Grinch redeems himself at the end, it's an emotional roller coaster my little one likes to ride.



SANTA'S FAVORITE STORY by Hisako Aoki and Ivan Gantschev (Neugebauer Press USA, 1982) is a sweet story about the reason for the season. The animals find Santa in the forest and when they are afraid there won't be a Christmas, Santa tells them the story of a child born long ago in Bethlehem. The animals realize they were silly to think that Christmas was only about presents and they all go to Santa's to help him get ready to deliver presents because Santa is reminded of how fun his job really is. The illustrations in this book are absolutely gorgeous!


SNOWMEN AT CHRISTMAS written by Caralyn Bueher, illustrated by Mark Bueher (Dial BFYR, 2005) is a fun story about snowmen sneaking off to have a spectacular Christmas party in the park on Christmas Eve. It's fun to imagine all the snowpeople in town getting together to have a party and Mark Bueher's illustrations really bring the snow party to life.


I've saved my favorite book for last. I find this book to be pretty much perfect. PETER CLAUS AND THE NAUGHTY LIST is written by Lawrence David and illustrated by Delphine Durand (Doubleday BFYR, 2001). Peter is Santa's kid and he is on the naughty list--again. He feels bad for all the kids on the naughty list because he knows how it feels to have no presents under the tree on Christmas morning, so he decides to do something about it. Peter sneaks out with the reindeer and collects all the naughty kids because he thinks Santa needs to find out why they did naughty things before he decides they get no presents. The reasons the kids share for being on the naughty list are humorous. The things they say they will do to make up for the naughty thing they did are sweet. The illustrations are quirky and adorable. And there are some great lines in this book including, "I don't remember being bad this year." The answer,"Nobody ever does." Peter manages to save Christmas for the naughty kids and himself while making his dad, Santa, quite proud. Like Santa says, "All people do naughty things once in a while. It can't be helped."

What are your favorite holiday books? I want to know so I can check them out.

Retold Tales

Retold Tales are fun! Most of us are familiar with classic stories and nursery rhymes, but even if we're not, new twists and retelling can be great reads. I especially love them for storytime. I went searching for retold tales on my library shelves. Here's what I found and put on display:


Hush Little Dragon written by Boni Ashburn and Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. A mother dragon soothes her baby by singing him a rhyme. A fiendishly fun play on the Hush Little Baby lullaby, this mama dragon sings about snacks of the royal kind.






Young MacDonald by David Milgram in which Young MacDonald creates all sorts of mixed-up animals on the farm while the Old MacDonalds are away. He's got to set thing straight before the Old MacDonalds, aka his parents, get home.



Goldie and the Three Bears written and illustrated by Diane Stanley. Goldie can't seem to find a friend that is just right, until she happens upon Bear's house. Both the illustrations and the story are very sweet.




The Famous Adventures of a Bird-Brained Hen is written and illustrated by Jessica Souhami. It's a simple retelling of Henny Penny's story with colorful collage illustrations.











The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon by Mini Grey. This book takes a couple of characters from the classic nursery rhyme. It's great fun. The Dish and the Spoon run away together and become vaudeville stars, of course, there is some trouble along the way.


Tom Thumb retold and illustrated by Richard Jesse Watson is a beautiful book. Mr. Watson's amazing illustrations alone make it a must read. There is so much detail! I actually have a signed copy of this book from when Mr. Watson visited our library. In it he drew a big beautiful lion for my son(amazingly quickly I might add). It's a book that we treasure.


Bubba the Cowboy Prince: A Fractured Texas Tale by Helen Ketteman and illustrated by James Warhola. Bubba is the "Cinderella" of this tale. He's the stepson of a wicked rancher and has some really mean stepbrothers and the fairy godmother is a cow. This is one of my absolute favorite stories. The voice is spot on. It'll have you talking like a cowboy in no time.

I'd love to know what your favorite retold tales are.

Halloween Favorites!

Halloween gives us all a chance to dress up and be something else. Picture books create a world of their own full of imagery whisking us away to a different place. Picture books and Halloween seem to just go together. There are some great Halloween books that I love, and read every year. Here's the books I've been reading, over and over again, all month.



John Pig's Halloween written by Jan L. Waldron, illustrated by David McPhail is about poor little John Pig being too scared to go out to trick-or-treat with the rest of the piggies, so, he stays home. He expects a sad and lonely night, until a witch shows up at the door and shows John how to really party on Halloween. She sets him straight right quick. She doesn't want candy! John, the witch, and her cat, whip up some monstrously good food just in time for a crowd of monsters to arrive and party down. The story is written in rhyme and has such sweet illustrations. I love that real monsters don't eat candy, and the book has provided me with one of my favorite quotes, "You need savory snacks that real monsters can eat." I love it!



Bella Legrossi is messy. Boris Kleanitoff is extremely tidy. They don't make for good neighbors. They don't even like each other... until they dance. This is a great story about giving people a chance, even though they are different than ourselves. As we all know, opposites attract.

I so wish I had clothes like Boris and Bella wear so my husband and I could be them every year. I've always wanted green hair, and I am quite like Bella, so I could be messy all day and have an excuse! Boris and Bella is written by Carolyn Crimi and illustrated by Gris Grimly.



A Creepy Countdown is simply lovely. It's a fun little counting book, with a funny twist. Pus, it's a counting book that I can actually get my little guy to read with me. He has the best learning radar I've ever experienced. If there is any teaching whatsoever involved in a book, he's out. A Creepy Countdown isn't teach-y. Charlotte Huck has written the story so that it's just fun that happens to have numbers in it. It's the black ink on scratchboard illustrations done by Jos. A. Smith that I adore. They're just beautiful. The art in this book has inspired a story or two that I've written.



In Big Pumpkin, witch has grown a pumpkin so big she can't even get it off the vine. She seems to want the pumpkin all to herself because when others offer to help she's a bit resistant, witchy even. She tells them all,"It's big and it's mine but it's stuck on the vine." But, she wants pumpkin pie so bad, she reluctantly lets some others help. Funny how the smallest guy has the best idea. It's all about teamwork! Warning: me and my little guy played "It's big and it's mine but it's stuck on the vine," at the pumpkin patch. He pulled the pumpkin, I pulled him, he bopped me in the jaw, I saw stars. Luckily it works out alot better in the book. They even get pumpkin pie. Hey! I didn't get any pumpkin pie! Not fair. Big Pumpkin is written by Erica Silverman and illustrated by S.D. Schindler.



This is Simon Lester Henry Strauss, he's not afraid of this haunted house, and he's funny! There's loads of spooky stuff in this book, but Simon Lester Henry Strauss isn't afraid of any of it. He's so darn brave, which makes the ending all the more hilarious. My little guy laughs every time. This may be the book that inspired him to eat a spider, actually, but hey, he was fine. Everyone should try eating a spider once I suppose. Everyone... except me. I'm Not Afraid of This Haunted House is written by Laurie Friedman and illustrated by Teresa Murfin.



Snitched! This 800-year-old man's pumpkin has been snitched! Who would do such a thing to such an old man? There's some snarky characters in this book, The Vanishing Pumpkin, written by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Tomie dePaola. It's pretty darn funny. I love the rapscallion. I love the sassy old man. I love pumpkin pie--this is my third book on the list that has pumpkin pie in it. Think I can talk the kids into eating pumpkin pie instead of candy this Halloween? No, didn't think so.



Hic! Skeleton has the hic! hiccups. There's only one hic! thing that can hic! scare his hiccups away. Can you hic! guess what it is? Hic! Skeleton Hiccups is written by Margery Cuyler and illustrated by S.D. Schindler.



My little guy absolutely loves this book by Dave Horowitz, about the poor, Ugly Pumpkin. It's sad when the others treat the ugly pumpkin mean and we do feel very sorry for him, especially when he cries, "I am the Ugly Pumpkin!" in huge letters that cover the entire page. But, oh my gosh! The Ugly Pumpkin discovers he's something else, and takes us on into Thanksgiving.

What are your Halloween favorites? I'm always looking for more stories to add to my favorite reading list!