Dec. 11 "An Orange for Frankie" by Patricia Polacco. My children always enjoy a story more when they know that it really happened once. This is a heartwarming story about a family on Christmas Eve as they wait for their father to return and the events of Christmas morning. Every year they decorate their mantle with pine boughs, apples, dried flowers but most of all oranges. When the oranges finally arrive with father Christmas morning Frankie is too excited to wait. He has to hold his orange and smell it. When his mother unexpectedly enters the room he doesn't have time to put it back on the mantle and stuffs it in his clothing. The orange becomes lost. Each member of the family donates an orange wedge so that Frankie can still enjoy an orange. Although the illustrations are not exactly realistic they are so strange and wonderful and the people in them are so full of life. The expressions and movement make me want to join in these festive family gatherings. Since oranges aren't as rare as they were in Frankie's time we shared some chocolate oranges, YUM! (and a few real ones too)
Dec. 12 "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers. Robert Frost is one of my absolute favorite poets. One of the reasons for this is my New England background. His poems catapult me back into my childhood days of roaming through woods, hopping over rock walls and ambling through apple orchards. This poem is no exception. I have often woken in the middle of the night to find that snow is falling. I've woken up the nearest sleeper (sister, brother, or my neighbor Audrey would meet me) to take a midnight walk in the snow. It is such a beautiful thing it's hard to go home. But I have "miles to go before I sleep..." This would be a such a good one to read on a day when you can go sledding or for a sleigh ride. Unfortunately we did neither of these... maybe next year.
Dec. 13 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by Charles M. Schulz. Usually we watch this. It should be an interesting experience reading it. It looks a little long.... I guess we'll see how it goes. This would be a good one to read on the night you decorate your tree but I wasn't on the ball with that one. I'll remember next year unless it's really long. In that case we'll probably go back to watching it. Either way it's a Christmas classic with a marvelous message!
Dec. 14 "The Lump of Coal" by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Brett Helquist. This is another new one for us this year. It is chock full of Mr. Snicket's usual wry humor. I don't know if the kids will find it funny, but I did. I'll let you know. A lump of coal goes out in search of a purpose. He would prefer his use to be in the making of beautiful art pieces, but we can't always choose... *spoiler alert* perhaps there will be a miracle. I'm planning to let the kids practice coloring with charcoal after reading this.
Dec. 15 "Snowmen at Christmas" by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner. Did you ever wonder how snowmen celebrate Christmas? Well, here's your answer. Fun, short and the kids can look for hidden pictures on each page. Some of these are easy and some are pretty darn hard to find. This whole series is wonderful ("Snowmen at Night" & "Snowmen All Year")- check them out. Here is yet another chance to show off your snowman building skills. After reading this (to myself, of course, it's not the 15th yet) I seriously wish we had enough snow in our front yard to fashion Santa and his sleigh- free decorations!
Dec. 11 "An Orange for Frankie" by Patricia Polacco. My children always enjoy a story more when they know that it really happened once. This is a heartwarming story about a family on Christmas Eve as they wait for their father to return and the events of Christmas morning. Every year they decorate their mantle with pine boughs, apples, dried flowers but most of all oranges. When the oranges finally arrive with father Christmas morning Frankie is too excited to wait. He has to hold his orange and smell it. When his mother unexpectedly enters the room he doesn't have time to put it back on the mantle and stuffs it in his clothing. The orange becomes lost. Each member of the family donates an orange wedge so that Frankie can still enjoy an orange. Although the illustrations are not exactly realistic they are so strange and wonderful and the people in them are so full of life. The expressions and movement make me want to join in these festive family gatherings. Since oranges aren't as rare as they were in Frankie's time we shared some chocolate oranges, YUM! (and a few real ones too)
Dec. 12 "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers. Robert Frost is one of my absolute favorite poets. One of the reasons for this is my New England background. His poems catapult me back into my childhood days of roaming through woods, hopping over rock walls and ambling through apple orchards. This poem is no exception. I have often woken in the middle of the night to find that snow is falling. I've woken up the nearest sleeper (sister, brother, or my neighbor Audrey would meet me) to take a midnight walk in the snow. It is such a beautiful thing it's hard to go home. But I have "miles to go before I sleep..." This would be a such a good one to read on a day when you can go sledding or for a sleigh ride. Unfortunately we did neither of these... maybe next year.
Dec. 13 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by Charles M. Schulz. Usually we watch this. It should be an interesting experience reading it. It looks a little long.... I guess we'll see how it goes. This would be a good one to read on the night you decorate your tree but I wasn't on the ball with that one. I'll remember next year unless it's really long. In that case we'll probably go back to watching it. Either way it's a Christmas classic with a marvelous message!
Dec. 14 "The Lump of Coal" by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Brett Helquist. This is another new one for us this year. It is chock full of Mr. Snicket's usual wry humor. I don't know if the kids will find it funny, but I did. I'll let you know. A lump of coal goes out in search of a purpose. He would prefer his use to be in the making of beautiful art pieces, but we can't always choose... *spoiler alert* perhaps there will be a miracle. I'm planning to let the kids practice coloring with charcoal after reading this.
Dec. 15 "Snowmen at Christmas" by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner. Did you ever wonder how snowmen celebrate Christmas? Well, here's your answer. Fun, short and the kids can look for hidden pictures on each page. Some of these are easy and some are pretty darn hard to find. This whole series is wonderful ("Snowmen at Night" & "Snowmen All Year")- check them out. Here is yet another chance to show off your snowman building skills. After reading this (to myself, of course, it's not the 15th yet) I seriously wish we had enough snow in our front yard to fashion Santa and his sleigh- free decorations!
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