Advent Books

This is an amazing new book from an amazing new author. It is a must have book for your holiday collection. Kissing Kringle is sure to be a classic. Not only is the story marvelous, but the illustrations are astounding, better than any illustrations I have ever seen in a children's book. This book is the perfect book to read to your whole family during the holiday season, and highly recommended.

This is an amazing new book from an amazing new author. It is a must have book for your holiday collection. Kissing Kringle is sure to be a classic. Not only is the story marvelous, but the illustrations are astounding, better than any illustrations I have ever seen in a children's book. This book is the perfect book to read to your whole family during the holiday season, and highly recommended.

This is not your typical Christmas story, as it reflects a child's life so effectively in capturing the bittersweet miracle that is Christmas. Ms. Howell is a natural story teller and carries the reader along on that midwinter train ride to the upper reaches of Norway's mountains with Laura and her family. As an adult I was fascinated and frustrated by the political fears and apprehensions that seem to haunt her parents, yet Laura obviously wise beyond her years knows how to cope and thrive in uncertain circumstances. The friends she meets upon that Norwegian mountain opens her heart to joy and universality of the Christmas experience. This is one Christmas book that avoids all the sentimental cliches that make similar books so mawkish.
This was such an enjoyable read that I have ordered Ms. Howell's "Beejum Book" in anticipation of more reading pleasure.

Another classic story from the author of "The Beejum Book", "Lara's First Christmas" is a lovely story about a lonely little girl who finds the meaning of friendship and Christmas in a snowbound little hotel in Norway. "Lara's First Christmas" is vividly written in simple prose that makes the story enjoyable and accessable even to a small child. But this sweet little book is not only for the little ones--the message of love, kindness and Christmas spirit can be heard and embraced by everyone, even an ancient 12-year-old, such as myself. "Lara's First Christmas" is absolutely charming, and I heartily recommend it.

I bought this boook, read through it, & went & bought 5 more for presents. It's a perfect gift. I found the text to really reflect the real meaning of Christmas, & the "wishes" in it were exactly what I'd wish for everyone on my Christmas list. I might even give 2 to each person, with the instructions to pass the second one on. This book should be sweeping our country this Christmas.

Every Christmas, I try to find a book that will reflect the true meaning of the holdiay spirit. Well, I found it in Mr. Morgan's book. In this world of trying to find the perfect gifts, we learn that the perfect gifts are those within us. Beautifully written and illustrated, the book is an easy read and a wonderful way to spread the true meaning of Christmas.

This book is easy to follow and written in the spirit of getting past the craziness of the holiday season. It's ideas can easily be tailored to fit children of all ages. I like that it has things to "ponder" that go with each day of Advent.

This Advent book has a Victorian look about it. It is complete with a Christmas Carol and a devotional for every day of Advent. The days are divided into the four weeks of Advent. People of all ages will be spellbound with the daily readings, and everyone will be enchanted with the beautiful full-color illustrations. Meaningful prayers are printed in gold with a deep red background at the end of each day's reading. The Christmas hymns are all familiar, but are presented in new format, complete with notes for four-part harmony. This book has really put me in the Spirit of Christmas. It has a special place on the tea table of our parlor.

If you are buying a bunch of books to learn more about passover and how to celebrate it , this is a good book to have in your library, but if you are only buying one this is not it.It does not have the right info in it to allow you to be createive or free from guilt to be more createive.

This is a beautifully and sensitively written Haggadah based on the Jewish customs of the Passover Seder. The fact that it was written jointly by a rabbi and a minister adds considerably to its breadth. For a Christian community whose members are already familiar with the basic structure and rituals of the Passover Seder, this Haggadah will add new layers of understanding as these same Jewish structures, rituals and symbolism are re-interpreted in light of Christian teachings. It is not intended for a mixed faith group of Jews and Christians together. It is directed at Christian groups who wish to better experience and understand this part of Jesus's life story and its underlying Jewish basis.

I LOVE this book. It is one of the books I check out every year from the library at Christmas. However, I have moved to Seattle and my library does not have it! I think I may have to finally buy it.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. A Letter to Santa Claus was one of her picks.

Charlotte was a young girl who was always keeping busy. The town she lived in was so small . . . it wasn't even a town. The child she had to play with was her baby brother. So, she was always learning by copying what the adults did.

If her Mother or Father wrote a note, she would beautifully copy the note and add some illustrations. The only problem was . . . she couldn't read what she wrote.

Since Christmas was coming, Charlotte wanted to send a letter to Santa Claus. She wanted him to know what she would like for Christmas and to warn him that she would be in her brother's room rather than hers. Her grandparents would be visiting, and they would be in her room.

Her Mother wrote out a letter for Charlotte to copy. And she did so. Then she copied out the list of what she wanted. But she got busy and knocked several papers on the floor. She picked one up and put it in with her letter to Santa. But it was the wrong one!

The rest of the story nicely develops around the theme of giving as the way to receive.

The illustrations in this book are very noteworthy for their lively pastel watercolors. They create a wonderful mood of loving and caring that you and your child will enjoy very much.

I especially like this story because the plot has the most original twist I have seen on the "letter to Santa" theme. The book also moves away from "how can I get more?" -- which permeates most letters to Santa stories.

Although the book appears to be out of print at the moment, I suggest you track it down anyway. You'll be glad you did, if you are like me in your enjoyment of this beautiful holiday story.

After you finish enjoying this book with your child, I suggest a project of writing a letter to Santa on behalf of someone who may not be remembered by Santa. Then, you can take the gift that arrives to be shared with others on Christmas Day.

May the true spirit of Christmas always be with you!

For anyone looking for a very personal and spiritual guide to walk though the weeks of Advent, this is it. I've used it for a few years now, (this one was a gift for next year) and it brings the true meaning of the time before Christmas to heart. I wish there was one like this for Lent as well as other times of the year.

This book offers a great advent study for those with 10-15 minutes a day to spend with the reading, the scriptural passage, and to read and hopefully reflect on the prayer included for each day. The story/short essay provided is 2-3 pages in length, easy to read, and involves a reflection by the author about that day's topic. The book provides a small group discussion guide for each week for those who want to do the study with a group. I shall do the study alone, however, and will find it just as interesting I believe. In our busy world, the study is very doable in a short amount of time each day, and if you get behind a day or two it won't be overwhelming to catch up. All in all, a nice study for the Advent season, and a little push each day to encourage us to stay with a little daily Bible reading as the Advent season progresses.

This book is about a poor family in New York. It is what Charlotte Mason referred to as a "living" book. When I read this book to my children, they were 6 and 7 years of age. They were spellbound and I wound up reading it in one sitting because they "begged" me to keep going! There is also a neat craft idea for making a Christmas star.

Joan Sewell

When my sisters and I were small children, my mother began to read us this story just before Christmas. We heard it read aloud each year as we grew up, and it became an important and special part of our holiday celebration. Now as a middle school teacher, I read this book to my students each December. It's a charming (and true!) tale of a loving family who experience a very special holiday. Simple but sincere, heartwarming and gentle, Lion in the Box is a book to treasure. Sharing this story each year is a wonderful tradition to start in your own family.

Sometimes you forget your faith. This book will help you to remember it. It's an interesting little book. I think it is targeted to kids but I sure got a lot out of it. I read it for my kids and am now getting a couple copies for christmas gifts. It's a charming little book that will catch you off guard. Highly recommended.

What a great little book. I loved it.
It's the kind of book that should be in every household. It can be for kids but also for adults.
Great gift for Christmas

This is another wonderful book by Mercer Mayer. My kids love reading and having this read to them. The illustrations are beautiful and the stories are cute!

One of the funniest Critter books yet. A Christmas like any parent can relate to. Just as much fun to read for kids as it is to the parent who can probably remember a few things like this from back when. A must have no matter how old you are.