The County Library discussion

December is a time when the magic of childhood returns, no matter your age. So this month’s challenge is to read a children’s book. It can be a short picture book or one with dozens of chapters, whatever you have time for. And if you really want to share the magic of books, try reading your pick with a child.

Easy challenge for me! I read a holiday themed book to my children every night from Dec 1-Dec 24. I am going to the bookstore this evening to hopefully find a couple of new books to add to our collection.

12 Books of Christmas:

A Little Women Christmas
It's Christmas, David!

What would you add?

I gave a Book Advent count down to all my nieces and nephews. I also got books for me so I can do it also!

I'm going to read The Paper Magician series by Charlie N. Holmberg. I had never heard of it before, but it looks like a great deal of fun....

And I'll be re-reading Alice in Wonderland for my Classics Goodreads group.

My list of "want to reads" is getting longer every time you people post! I commented on my recent reads last week but I don't think it was sent as I received an e-mail that I was "out" until I shared in discussion. Maybe this will work:)

Marinda wrote: "12 Books of Christmas:

A Little Women Christmas
It's Christmas, David!

What would you add?"

I love: The Christmas Candle, Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect, and The Little Match Girl. (Technically the last takes place on New Year's Eve, but the holidays are part of the theme and poignancy of this story.)

so far I have read Llama Llama Jingle bells (Anna Dewdney), Home For Christmas (Jan Brett), How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas Jane Yolan & Mark Teague), and There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidel. More to come!

If you are undecided, my favorite children's Christmas book of all time is The Night Tree by Eve Bunting. If I can find my copy, packed away for my future grandchildren, I will dust it off and enjoy the beautiful story and pictures again.

I will no doubt listen to A Christmas Carol narrated by Patrick Stewart (not really a children's story but classic Christmas fare), he is fabulous.

I found A Redbird Christmas last year by Fannie Flagg and will relisten to it again this year, it is a sweet story. Perhaps A Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens as well, got it from audible as a freebie last year and it is Dickens after all :)

Llama Llama and Duck and Goose are the huge favorites with my toddler right now, so I've been reading those. Haven't read it myself yet, but my older kids found the Scaredy Squirrel Christmas book hilarious.
My middle keeps picking Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep-- which has been her favorite for quite a while now-- and insisting that it's Christmasy enough. ;)

And of course Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight? and Who Will Help Santa This Year? are favorites every year.
The one I'm excited to read but no one has picked yet is The Littlest Elf, which is a Little Golden Book that I had as a kid that my brother-in-law found for my kids!

I have read two books, one a Caldecott Honor book and the other a Newbery Honor book:
How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz and Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen.
I enjoyed the first and loved the second -- enough that I wrote one of my rare reviews.

I read a lot of Christmas books. You can read my reviews here http://ldsmag.com/new-treasures-for-c...

My hubby and I have both read "Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree" to our 5-year-old this year. I've also read "Fancy Nancy: Splendiforous Christmas." I'm still waiting for someone to pick "Bear Stays Up for Christmas"!

Right now I'm reading Enchanted, which is a great retelling of the frog prince fairy-tale, with a bunch of others mixed in-- not super Christmasy, but I'm also planning to pick up A Christmas Carol, an old favorite, before the month is out.

I will be reading "The Nights Before Christmas" by Tony Ross. It's a collection of twenty four Christmas classics, including Christmas Carol, The Fir Tree, The Match Girl, Little Women, and many others. This book was made for children, some of the stories have been shortened. The book just came out this year, I saw it in Dublin Ireland when I was there. I can't wait for it to be shipped to my house, so I can read it to my son! :D

I have unexpectedly finished another book, Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith. It was the Newbery winner for 1958.

Right now I'm preparing for a book talk to elementary aged kids on children's books that have been turned into movies. Of course, there are all the obvious ones, but I've found several books and movies that I haven't read that are great. Here's a couple I've enjoyed: Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce, Skellig by David Almond, and The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith.

I read a Christmas themed book to my children every day from Dec. 1-Dec. 25...and a few days we read more than one. A few that were new to us this year...
Night Tree. (Thanks for the recommendation, Utahhornbakers.... We loved it!)

Christmas in the Time of Billy Lee
The First Christmas Night
Silent Night, Holy Night
Sad Santa and
There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve.


We also read many old favorites...a mix of fun/silly and religious books.

I read A Christmas Story, very much like the movie, of course.

Jenny wrote: "I read a Christmas themed book to my children every day from Dec. 1-Dec. 25...and a few days we read more than one. A few that were new to us this year...
Night Tree. (Thanks for the..."

I hadn't heard of most of these-- thanks for sharing!

I know it's too late for this year, but my daughter wraps the books, even though the kids have heard most of them, and they unwrap and read one a day and sometimes they have an activity with them.
HOW MURRAY SAVED CHRISTMAS and SANTACLAUSTROPHOBIA by Mike Reiss. Funny books that will have everyone in stitches. My teenage grandson laughed so hard he fell off the chair. One's about Santa getting sick and Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Valentine Cherub, Uncle Sam, etc. rally round to help out. Thanks to Principal Bill Geist for sharing those with me.

AUNTIE CLAUS; AUNTIE CLAUSE - are fun.
My favorite is

Along with a bunch of picture books I read to my little boy, I just finished reading Lost in the Labyrinth by L.A. Peacock, a fun book about two kids who travel back in time to Ancient Greece to save their uncle from the Minotaur.

to finish my earlier thought: My favorite is CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE MORNING by Pearl S. Buck illustrated by Mark Buehner (local author and illustrator.) Familiar story for some of us with beautiful new pictures.

Shirley

Another delightful book for adults Christmas reading is A STRANGER FOR CHRISTMAS by Carol Lynn Pearson. A sweet story about 2 older ladies in a care center and their plans for the holidays.