What Could Be Keeping Santa? by Marilyn Janovitz

by CarolNo Comments
What Could Be Keeping Santa? by Marilyn Janovitz (Suggested reading level: Ages 4-8) I love this Christmas picture book and we read it every year. The deer are just so cute as they look around the house. Everything's ready for Christmas, but Santa's still in bed. It's almost time for them to go. Finally they knock on the big guy's door and find out that Santa's not late, they're a day early. "Nothing would ever keep Santa!" As I said, the illustrations are adorable, and you can get the feel of them based on the cover above. The rhyming text makes it a perfect story to read aloud to youngsters who are just like the deer, anxiously waiting for Christmas to come. Our copy was given to us as a gift and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate....
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The Nutcracker based on the classsic story by E. T. A. Hoffman

by Carol4 Comments
The Nutcracker based on the classic story by E. T. A. Hoffman, illustrated by Julie Paschkis (Suggested reading level: Ages 4-8) Amber (9) and I read this together again this year. Remember this is based on the story, not the ballet. No sugar plum fairy shows up, there are no dancing snowflakes, but it does come with a CD of selections from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, which we just started listening to in the car today. The music is beautiful. The story is familiar to us all. Clara finds a nutcracker under the Christmas tree. She learns how the toy got it's ugly face and hears the story of it's feud with the Mouse King. She finds the courage to help the nutcracker and breaks the spell he's under. The book is illustrated throughout in the same style as the cover, bright and colorful with just the right amount of detail. The Nutcracker is a holiday tradition and this...
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Christmas Catastrophe by Geronimo Stilton

by Carol2 Comments
Christmas Catastrophe by Geronimo Stilton (Suggested Reading Level: Ages 9-12) Amber(9) and I read this together last Christmas and again this year. Geronimo Stilton, an adorable mouse who runs a newspaper, takes takes his friends and family on a skiing vacation. Unfortunately, a bad accident lands him in the hospital, but while there he meets some great people. I love the Geronimo Stilton books because of the way they look, really. The pictures are cute and detailed; the font varies in size, style and color throughout the story.  This particular one helps kids learn that hospitals aren't really places to be afraid of, that the nurses, doctors and other employees are all trying to help you the best they can. It also has a nice reminder about how important family and friends are. I especially like the end, where the whole gang puts on a show for the patients. Laughter is the best medicine, after all! It's a nice story for this time of year,...
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The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado

by Carol1 Comment
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado, illustrated by Liz Bonham (Suggested reading level: Ages 4-8) This story was read aloud during an Advent workshop we attended at our church. It is a perfect Christmas story to share with kids. Joshua is the crippled lamb of the title. He hates being different from all the other lambs, but he has a special friend, Abigail the cow, who always reminds him that he is special. One night, Joshua has to stay in the stable, because he can't keep up with the rest of the flock who are heading to a new pasture. That night, though, he is one of the first to meet Jesus, and gets to help him stay warm. This is a touching story, but not a tear-jerker. The sweet story reminds us that we are all special and that our difficulties can end up being blessings, a wonderful lesson for all of us, not just kids. I wish I had gotten this book...
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Movie – Disney’s A Christmas Carol

by Carol8 Comments
Disney's A Christmas Carol I truly enjoyed this re-imagining of Dicken's classic story. We all know the basic plot. Scrooge is a bitter old man, with no joy or charity in his heart. He is visited by three "spirits," the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, who convince him that he needs to change his ways. I read the story a couple of years ago, but from what I remember, the script stayed very close to the original, with some added flying and chase scenes to make full use of the 3D. The 3-D, by the way, was very well done. Sometimes I get tired of all the 3-D movies that have been coming out lately, but I thought it worked nicely in this case. This was the creepiest version of the story I've seen, but I mean that in a good way. The ghosts could be downright scary at times. I was thankful that we were seeing it in the middle...
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Teaser Tuesday

by Carol12 Comments
Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given. Please avoid spoilers! My teaser: For a month before Christmas he turns his sleuthing genius to tracking down unusual wrapping papers, fine ribbons, and artistic stickers; and he spends the last two days creating beauty. So it was that when Attorney John S. Bondling called, Inspector Queen was in his kitchen, swathed in a barbecue apron, up to his elbows in fines herbes, while Ellery, behind the locked door of his study, composed a secret symphony in glittering fuschia metallic paper, forest-green moiré ribbon, and pine cones. -pg. 286, "The Adventure of the Dauphin's Doll" by Ellery Queen, in Murder for Christmas edited by Thomas Godfrey Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of...
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