{25 Days of Holiday Book Reviews}: Wendy's favorites

 Today's guest poster is Wendy!  Wendy is our technology teacher extraordinaire at my school.  She runs the lab, teaches all grades, does our school webpage, runs the school store, answers all my stupid tech questions, and is mom to 2 little boys.  Wendy is writing about her favorite Christmas books today, her favorites as a child and her favorites to read to her children.

 

I love the book God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren. I enjoy reading it to my boys at night. My youngest received it got Christmas from his Pre-school Sunday school teacher. It takes a mother polar bear and her cub on a journey to find God instead of Santa. They take in the beauty of nature and Gods' gifts to us.

As Little Cub and her family prepare to celebrate the most special day of the year, the curious young polar bear begins to wonder…  

“Who invented Christmas?”Mama’s answer only leads to more questions like “Is God more important than Santa?” So she and Little Cub head off on a polar expedition to find God and to see how he gave them Christmas. Along the way, they find signs that God is at work all around them. Through Mama’s gentle guidance, Little Cub learns about the very first Christmas and discovers that… 

Jesus is the best present of all.This enchanting tale provides the perfect opportunity to help young children celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and to discover how very much God loves them.

 

 

The book Santa's Reindeer is a wonderful book written by Rod Green. It tells about life at the North Pole and all about how reindeer are picked and the training etc. The illustrations are beautiful. I learned a lot about reindeer.

Shh Have you ever heard a reindeer's sleigh bells in the sky on Christmas Eve?

Have you ever heard a reindeer's hoofbeat on the roof of your house?

Or listened to the clatter of antlers outside in the darkness?

Of course you haven't

Santa's reindeer are so skillful that they can fly in and out of your neighborhood without anyone hearing a thing. But how do they learn to fly in the first place?

What are the reindeer really like?

What do the reindeer do for the rest of the year when they're not flying Santa around the world?

Find out all about how Santa and his Sleigh Master train the Sleigh Team at the North Pole.

Discover just what reindeer games the team likes to play and what they love to eat. Learn everything you ever wanted to know in this beautifully illustrated look at the North Pole's most magical inhabitants.

Then watch out on Christmas Eve.

Once you know all about Santa's reindeer, you just might be able to spot them stopping somewhere near "your" house

 

How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss: Always loved it as a child, and now I enjoy sharing it with my kids. The boys really enjoy the part where the Grinch's heart grows.

"The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! / Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason." Dr. Seuss's small-hearted Grinch ranks right up there with Scrooge when it comes to the crankiest, scowling holiday grumps of all time. For 53 years, the Grinch has lived in a cave on the side of a mountain, looming above the Whos in Whoville. The noisy holiday preparations and infernal singing of the happy little citizens below annoy him to no end. The Grinch decides this frivolous merriment must stop. His "wonderful, awful" idea is to don a Santa outfit, strap heavy antlers on his poor, quivering dog Max, construct a makeshift sleigh, head down to Whoville, and strip the chafingly cheerful Whos of their Yuletide glee once and for all.

Looking quite out of place and very disturbing in his makeshift Santa get-up, the Grinch slithers down chimneys with empty bags and stealing the Whos' presents, their food, even the logs from their humble Who-fires. He takes the ramshackle sleigh to Mt. Crumpit to dump it and waits to hear the sobs of the Whos when they wake up and discover the trappings of Christmas have disappeared. Imagine the Whos' dismay when they discover the evil-doings of Grinch in his anti-Santa guise. But what is that sound? It's not sobbing, but singing! Children simultaneously adore and fear this triumphant, twisted Seussian testimonial to the undaunted cheerfulness of the Whos, the transcendent nature of joy, and of course, the growth potential of a heart that's two sizes too small. This holiday classic is perfect for reading aloud to your favorite little Whos.

 

The Little Match Girl: Not exactly one of my favorites, but depending on which version you read, it is very touching. Reminds me to watch out for those less fortunate and to offer a helping hand.

 The wares of the poor little match girl illuminate her cold world, bringing some beauty to her brief, tragic life. 

The Gift of the Magi: This is a story I would say shows how unselfish people should be. A good story for Christmas to show it is better to give than receive.

One dollar and eight-seven cents is all the money Della has in the world to buy her beloved husband a Christmas present. She has nothing to sell except her only treasure -- her long, beautiful brown hair. Set in New York at the turn of the twentieth century, this classic piece of American literature tells the story of a young couple and the sacrifices each must make to buy the other a gift. Beautiful, delicate watercolors by award-winning illustrator Lisbeth Zwerger add new poignancy and charm to this simple tale about the rewards of unselfish love.

(all summaries and images from Goodreads)

Thank you, Wendy!