Christmas Books

Here it is, October, and my children are begging me to read from "The Beasts of Bethlehem". Even though the poems don't follow a typical children's poem meter, they love it just the same. They enjoy picking out their "favorite" animals and having me read that animal's poem. Wonderful book!!

Enthralling poems for young and old. You are touched, amused, startled, and may be moved to tears at the musings of the beasts who witness the birth of the Babe.

Hilarious stories, you will not find a better laugh for the whole family

Elaine Stritch is an excellent choice for this audiobook. I have loved The Best Christmas Pageant Ever since childhood and now am delighted to get this CD for my daughter to enjoy. She loved The Best Halloween Ever that I read to her and I think she will love this collection as well.

The Herdmans teach us the true meaning of Christmas! And of life too.

I have these three books on audio. We can all read and read and read till our eyes fall out - but no way can these stories be enjoyed to the fullest unless you hear them read by the author. Mr. Armory has the purrfect voice and inflections. You'll laugh, cry and sigh all the way through. The author claims to be a "curmudgeon" but has more heart and compassion that he wants us to see!

I gave a full "book report" to my sister the special ed teacher - and she wants hard covers to read to her "kids"; but I made her promise to listen to the audiobooks first so she can really give a first rate presentation to her classes. It's my great pleasure to send them to her. J

This is the true story of a little grey abandoned kitten who becomes the love of an old bachelors heart. It tells the story of their life together and gives insight into what happened after.

Keep the tissues handy

This is a story about a cat and a girl who move to the city. The cat's name is Puss and the girl's name is Jenni. Puss gets lost and Jenni has to find him. The chapters alternate between Puss and Jenni's points of view. I like the fact that you can read what Puss is thinking. This is one of my favorite books that I have ever read.

Young Puss is a country cat, and has been all his life. He adores small-town living, as he knows all the animals who surround him, and has his own very territories. That's why he's shocked when his owner, Jenni, moves him to a city filled with traffic, and unfriendly people. Puss quickly decides that this isn't the life for him, and heads towards home. However, unbeknownst to Puss, home is over 100 miles away, and might never be found by a small cat. When Jenni realizes that her beloved Puss - short for Puss in Boots, thanks to his all black body, and white feet - she becomes frantic and begins her search for him. While at the same time, Puss realizes how much he misses Jenni, and frantically tries to find his way back to his new home in the city. Throughout it all, Jenni meets many city-dwellers, who try to help her find Puss, and realizes that maybe the city isn't that bad after all.

Being a cat lover, and a fan of touching Christmas stories, I was happy to find both elements in Sylvia Green's THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER. Puss is a determined young cat who triumphs over the tragedy of getting himself lost. Jenni is a kind young girl who wants nothing but Puss back as her Christmas gift. Together they create quite a duo. With fabulous supporting characters who bring the story even more to life, THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER is essential holiday reading.

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I love the message of this story. My kids loved it too and now give me buttons (you have to read the book) as gifts.

Father Bear has had a bad year and there is so little money that the Bear family does not expect Christmas presents. But when Christmas morning comes, there ARE presents under the tree and little footprints in the flour snow around the base of the tree. The presents themselves are surprising in their simplicity. Here is a picture book that speaks to what Christmas should be.
The pictures are simple and the colors muted and that fits the story perfectly. This book is destined to become one of my all-time holiday books - and I have a lot of them.

This is a great book of short stories. I had never really read short stories before because they left me at a dead end, these leave you hanging but also give you a good idea about what will happen next. Kind of like sweet and sour sauce. My favorite is "Be Careful With My Heart". Its a great story about finding love after you have lost your first love.She couldn't have written a better book of short stories.

This is a great book of short stories. I had never really read short stories before because they left me at a dead end, these leave you hanging but also give you a good idea about what will happen next. Kind of like sweet and sour sauce. My favorite is "Be Careful With My Heart". Its a great story about finding love after you have lost your first love.She couldn't have written a better book of short stories.

"Big Apple Christmas" is the most wonderful romantic anthology. As a native New Yorker, these charming, beautifully written tales brought back many wonderful memories of Christmas from my past. And also gave me ideas for new traditions I'd like to start.

*****"Moonlight and Mistletoe" by Carrie Turansky tells the story of Sarah, a professional organizer, and Justin, a poet. This couple is drawn together when Sarah's neighbor, Lillian, is injured in a fall because of the clutter in her apartment. Justin hires Sarah to eliminate his Grandmother's clutter, and they grow closer as they work together on the project. But Sarah is dismayed that Justin isn't career minded, and therefore believes they have no future. Will she give up on the man she is falling for?

*****Emily and Bryan literally run into each other at Kennedy Airport in Gail Sattler's "Shopping For Love". Emily is running away from her messed up life, including Brian with an "i". How can Bryan with a "y" be capturing her heart? Bryan has feelings for Emily, too. But he lives in Washington state and she in Minnesota. Can they make a long-distance relationship last?

***"Where the Love Light Gleams" is Lynette Sowell's contribution to this anthology. Gwynn and Theo have two things in common. They have both been widowed, and their daughters are best friends from college. When Gwynn says "goodbye" to the majestic 75-foot pine tree in her front yard, her family sends her on a trip to New York to see the sites and visit the tree in Rockefeller Center. This was a decent story, but the relationship development was a bit choppy.

********Vasthi Reyes Acosta's "Gifts from the Magi" is the story of two childhood friends, Cecilia and Elias, reunited when he returns to town as her church's youth pastor. Cecilia is working on her Master's thesis, and has been volunteered by her family to help chaperone the youth events over the Christmas holiday. Seasoned with Latin flavors, this story repeatedly sent shivers up my spine! You must do yourself a favor and read this in one sitting.

Reviewed by Lori Plach for Reader Views (10/07)

Every year about a million people cram into Times Square in New York City on New Years' Eve, while another billion TV viewers tune in to watch the ball drop and a new year to begin. There are bound to be plenty of stories of people who venture to New York City to take in all the lights, sounds and activities of the holiday season. "A Big Apple Christmas" gives you four stories of people who ventured to New York, not for love, but find themselves enjoying being in one of the United States' busiest cities.

In "Moonlight and Mistletoe" Sarah Montgomery has made friends with her neighbor in her apartment building. Lillian is an elderly lady with a big heart and way too much stuff. After Lillian's accident, Justin comes to help with Grandma's things. He hires Sarah to organize Grandma's belongings. How can he take this much time off in order to help Grandma, doesn't he even work? Why is he offended when Sarah tries to rid Grandma's home from children's poetry books?

In "Shopping for Love," Emily Jones just wants to forget Brian. She has been burned in a relationship and just needs some rest and relaxation, so she takes off to New York City. The farthest thing from her mind is literally falling into the arms of another Bryan. Why won't this Bryan just leave her be? Every chance he gets he invites her to go shopping and seeing the sights.

"Where the Love Light Gleams" is a heartwarming story of Gwynn Michaud's trip to New York to see a tree from her land be the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center. As chance would have it, her daughter's roommate Maline is from New York and offers to house Gwynn during her stay in the Big Apple. Theophilius Stellaki is Maline's father and is a cranky professor, but being a proper gentleman, offers to accompany Gwynn to the lighting ceremony. Will he end up escorting her to more than just a tree-lighting?

"Gifts from the Magi" is by far one of the most romantic stories I have ever read. Elias Perez is youth pastor at the church where he grew up. Cecilla was one of the few girls who didn't make fun of Elias and his being sickly when they were kids. Throughout the Christmas season, the two work together on many projects. He's a friend to her so she asks who would possibly be giving her all these anonymous gifts like two dove candy bars and four cell phone pictures of pigeons.

After reading "A Big Apple Christmas," you won't be watching the ball drop on New Years quite the same way. Maybe there are stories like this one developing out there on Times Square. Even if you can't make it to New York to celebrate Christmas this year, you still can enjoy "A Big Apple Christmas!"

I love the arrangements in this books. They are not your "run of the mill" Christmas carols. Some are jazzy and others are soft and sweet. The book is marked medium difficulty and I would say that's about right. Some I could sight-read but many would take a bit of work. There are a lot of key changes within each piece. I particularly like In the Bleak Mid-winter, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, which is a jazzed up version, Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming and Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus to name just a few. The only thing I don't like about the book is that it won't stay open. No matter how hard you crease the pages it still ends up trying to close while you're playing the song. But, in spite of that, it's a great book and I would still buy it.

Finally, a nice Christmas music book filled with lovely arrangements that are on the intermediate level! The description of this book was spot on. The arrangements are challenging and not boring or too simple. Plus they are nice melodies...not oddly constructed arrangements that have discordant notes and such. Glad to have it in my repertoire!

This is a great book to get you in the christmas spirit and mood. This book has great pictures and a clever storyline. Perfect for family reading!

This is one of the best Christmas books. For some reason, Santa Claus never comes to the tree that the Chipmunk family lives in. They celebrate as well as they can, but the Chipmunk children, Nina and Nutley, always hope that Santa Claus will come. One Christmas, Aunt Mim comes to visit, and decides that Santa never comes because he can't tell their tree apart from all the other trees in the forest, and so the Chipmunks decorate their tree. The illustrations are beautiful, and very festive, and overall, this is a wonderful holiday story.

I bought this and A bit of Applause for Santa Claus as a gift exchange with my book club. This really got everyone (all women) laughing...

I bought this book for my mother and my sister. When we were children, my mother always read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to us on Christmas Eve. This book mimics the rhyme and theme of the poem, but replaces the text with fun rhymes that acknowledges the hard work that Mrs Claus puts into Christmas (as Moms know, Santa's efforts are nothing without his wife's support!). I loved the illustrations, they are whimsical and colorful. I even purchased a matching ornament for my mother and she is just thrilled with it! I just purchased another copy for a friend of mine for next year!