Christmas Eve Books

Heart breaking story of homelessness during the Christmas season with a miracle to boot. Diaz' usual fabulous artwork works well with Bunting's deft story tellings of social issues, especially here.

Very moving, very powerful discussion point with kids grades 1-4. Highly reccommend for story or book discussion groups.

December is a remarkable book -- it manages to connect homelessness to the realm of miracles and the mystery of Christmas. As a reading teacher, I've had the pleasure of meeting Eve Bunting and sharing her stories with hundreds of children. The younger set don't always understand the implications of the old lady who visits on Christmas Eve, but they are deeply touched by the generosity of a mother and child who are willing to share a cookie, a precious coat and the box over their head. The story has something of the aura of O'Henry's Gift of the Magi. December is a pleasure to read and a treasure to share.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, cooking, visiting, family gatherings, one seeks a few moments of quiet, of stillness. Eve Bunting and illustrator David Diaz can provide those moments with "December."

Although designated for ages 4-8, this magnificent book is truly for all ages. Sit down with your little one or your spouse or you and a cup of tea for a few moments with "December," truly a story of the spirit of Christmas.

This is one of those books in which there has been a true collaboration of writer and artist. Each page is framed by symbolic representations of the theme of each page. On the cover is a picture of an angel. The frame contains feathers in the calming colors of blue and green, while the bright colors of the angel reflect her glory.

A mother and son, homeless, are spending Christmas Eve in a cardboard box with a board for a door. They have the top of a Christmas tree that a tree salesman was kind enough to give them. It is decorated with bits and pieces of the past. Taped to the wall is the picture of the angel, taken from a calendar, the December page. The have the overcoat of the husband/father whose absence is not explained.

A knock comes at their board/door. The mother cautiously answers. An ancient, bent, homeless woman asks for shelter. They share their space, the boy gives her one of their two Christmas cookies. The next morning the woman is gone. What the boy finds is a heart-stopping miracle.

That's just half of this quiet, but powerful story about giving and sharing. Learning the rest of the story is up to you.

I had to read it twice to have the story really sink in. This book is very moving and quiet. A really great job from Eve Bunting and a book to be remembered.

wow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hank the cowdog is a great book for the family or by yourself . john r erikson did a wonderful job on this book . you need to read it to belive it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

I love all the Hank books, and this is a great one for the Christmas season. These books are hilarious and more important to the young reader, fun to read. I'd also check the rest of the series.

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home" editor "Of A Predatory Heart"

This is one of my favriote books it is funny and exciting. It takes the perspective of a cowdog on a ranch in east texas. That thinks he is head of ranch security and goes through a lot of hillarius storys.

In this book a buzzard gets hurt, and he gets taken care of.Well,one day Slim,Little Alfred, Drover(the dog),and Hank(the dog)was driving to town to get Christmas presents,and a buzzard named Wallace flew into the wind shield.He got hurt pretty bad,and Little Alfred begged Slim to take him home and take care of him.Slim took him home after he went shopping,and cured him.Then Wallace flew away with his son happily ever after.

Hank the cowdog is "head of ranch security," and tend to act like Barney Fife. the entire seires of Hank the Cowdog stories are hilarious. The story is told from the perspective of Hank and the animal characters in this story, such as Drover, the young pup in training for ranch security, are constantly causing problems for Hank. In one story Hank gets sick after eating a frying pan full of bacon grease. He knows what he should and should not do, but always finds himself being overcome by his true nature--egotistical, gluttonous, etc.

Read this book and you will be addicted to Hank.

Okay, so we don't have kids of our own so sue us. It is a delightful book and and as I was reading I thought to myself that if we had kids the husband here would probably be just like the dad in the book, because that is how he is with our 3 dogs. We could most definately see this being a big time holiday film, either for the big screen or even television since we really need to have more quality television for children. The wife is a teacher and we are thinking of ordering a whole bunch of copies for the kids as we get towards the holiday season. Many thanks to Mr. and Miss Casey.

What is it about Christmas that inspires the best bedtime stories for kids? Maybe it's simply snuggle factor. The crackle of the fire in the fireplace, the warmth of the blanket that dad tucked us in only the way dad can do it. Written by dad and illustrated by his young daughter, the book itself is a homage to the wonderful blessings of family. Reading this book to your children at bedtime will not only entertain but like most celebrated rhyming Christmas stories will teach them a wonderful lesson about appreciating what you have.

Sean Casey had a vision somewhat different than the father from Christmas favorite "T'was the Night Before Chistmas." Nonetheless, "My Dad Cancelled Christmas" offers a great plot line that relates to parents and kids alike. The book, which tells the story of a father who loses it on Christmas Eve and subsequently cancels his family's celebration of Christmas, is illustrated by Sean's daughter Quinn, age 10. She has a great deal of talent and captures her fathers imagination well.
This book definitely should be up there on everyone's shopping list. "My Dad Cancelled Christmas" is definitely a refreshing alternative to the traditional and mundane "T'was the Night Before Christmas." It would not be a bad read to the kids before settling them down for "their long winter's nap" on Christmas Eve next holiday season. This would also be an excellent read for teachers of all elementary grades looking to expand their bookshelves and their students' imaginations. Definitely a "must" on next year's Christmas list, but why wait? It can be read year round to keep everyone in the holiday mood and get a laugh in here or there.

This was a delightful book - with a moral to boot! Most families would benefit from reading this together and talking about it. Good lessons to learn for kids AND parents..

This book is a terrific Christmas story and the fact that it is a collaborative effort between father and child makes it very special.

BOOK OF THE YEAR-ROMANCE! This book was honored as Book of the Year, Gold Medal at the Book Conference in Los Angeles in May, 2003. This book continues to receive many awards. Get it while it's hot. It's a wonderful, fateful story.

Thought this is an excellent book to give away as a Christmas gift, (I back ordered it as a belated Christmas gift, for all the family.) What ever season you pick up this book, I assure you, that it will be a very good read. This is one of those pleasent surprizes that I manage to stumble upon every once and a while.

I don't like romance novels. However, a close friend suggested I would enjoy this one. It turned out that I could not put the book down. The same was true for my 12 year old son. You can feel the characters' emotions as the amazing plot unfolds. This book is a classic and a must read for anyone who appreciates life and believes in the possibility of miracles. I loved it. We can't wait to see the movie!!!

The Christmas Star has received the Editor's Choice Award for the Best Romance for 2002 from ReadersPreference.com

This is a time when all of us can use a story that helps restore our faith in Humanity.
The Christmas Star is just that.
The story revolves around a love that survives war, amnesia and a thirty year seperation.
In my opnion it's a great story for Christmas time or any time.
I loved it!

The country where you were born rarely stops being home. Especially if you lived there for very long. This book highlights a family from the United States whose parents come from Mexico. The parents still feel very strongly that Mexico is home though they are firmly planted in the US. The kids are very uncomfortable with the knowledge. They prefer to speak English and feel that the US is home. What is this place their parents call home? What if they want to stay there? How do their parents really about about home in the US which the kids consider home? It's a confusing dilemma for kids and parents have to have mixed feelings too.

Eve Bunting takes her readers on journey with a Mexican family going home for Christmas. The text she uses is elegantly written. Through the feelings expressed by Carlos and his family you get a real sense of the Mexican culture and the importance of family. David Diaz's illustrations lead you into the journey with Carlos and his family. With the use of collaged background and inset illustrations the pages come alive. The text of Bunting and the illustrations of Diaz give you the sense of being there. This is a book that a child of any age would enjoy.

This book is very touching...it sensitively portrays the sacrafices Mexican immigrants have to make to move to America for their children to have a better life. Very well done themes of parental love, long car trips, the sadness of leaving one's home country, sibling realtionships, husband and wife being romantic (tasteful and age-appropriate), and a child's growing understanding of the complexities of life. Buy and read it to every child (and adult) you know.

This story is well told, with a nice pace and sense of language. Diaz is up to his usual standards, creating a colorful world that you just want to hop right into. Judge this book by its cover - it's beautiful!

Eve Bunting's books have a wisdom that transcends their simple stories. As an ESL teacher and a teacher in classes with immigrant students, I have often shared this book with middle school students and adults. In a brief and poetic narrative, it tells the universal story of parents sacrificing so their children will have a better life, through the eyes of a child. The adults in my ESL classes love it and take it home to read to their children.

As an elementary literacy coach I found this book to be a wonderful addition to my December booklist. This story tells the tale of one family's Christmas Eve tradition of placing food on and around a special tree in the forest each year for the animals. Beautiful illustrations add to the story. This book lends itself to discussion of other family traditions. I used it with all elementary grade levels and we made food for the birds to be hung in the trees around our playground, wrote class and individual poems, and the upper grades wrote personnal narratives about their family traditions. A great way also for parents to think about a family tradition of their own.

I'm a 3rd grade teacher and my kids loved the setting and language of the story. It was an excellant book to enhance future writings about holiday traditions.

This is a neat story about a family's Christmas tradition. Every year, they troop out into the forrest to decorate their night tree, a living pine Christmas tree. The night tree is festooned with edible decorations. After the family enjoys the magic of the decorated tree, they depart, knowing that the friendly critters who inhabit the woods will enjoy the decorations as a Christmas time snack.

The book introduces an interesting family "tradition" and teaches the concept of tradition as well as doing for others (the gifts of food for the animals). It is a warm story that brings smiles to young faces.

This lovely book is a favorite at any time of the year, though it centers around one family's Christmas Eve tradition. My kids have asked if we can start decorating a tree in the woods, too! The illustrations are gorgeous (Ted Rand is one of our favorites) and the writing makes you slow down and savor the unfolding of this simple, but sweet story.

I'm an elementary ed. major and this book is also good to read to kids who don't celebrate Christmas because although the family decorates a tree there isn't any mention of a particular hoilday. The title even lends to this fact.

Another great Eve book. Like All Hallows Eve, this one teaches a wonderful lesson to children while still being very entertaining! Gave this to all my friends children for Christmas last year!

This book is delightful for any child age one to one hundred. It is a lovely story with the greatest illustrations. It makes one feel young at heart and also reminds you about the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Eve: The Joy of Giving was a great follow up to All Hallows Eve. The writing is superb and easily captures the attention of my children. The visuals are a great compliment to the words and helps to bring the story to life. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

What a wonderful correlation of Santa and the Nativity! This book is a sweet story overall, and the illustrations are darling, but its real magic is that its messages really reflect the true meaning of Christmas, the spirit of giving and the gift of appreciation. Imagine if we all appreciated the things we receive! I know I appreciate this charmer and so do my grandkids!

This is a lovely book with a profound message. And the rhyming text is great fun to read and will definitely hold a child's attention to the very end. The artwork is magical, as well - I know children will want to linger on each page. Perfect length for a bedtime story.

My children loved this book. If you have children, buy this book for they will really enjoy it, and if you still have a little child inside yourself you, are really going to enjoy it also!

Millions know Jamie Farr by his beloved M*A*S*H character, Maxwell Klinger. What few remember is the fictional camel named Habeebe "Klinger" introduced in one episode. In this book, Jamie and his wife Joy tell the rest of the story that will delight a whole new generation of fans. You meet not just Habeebee and wife Habeeba, but their young one named, you guessed it, Hababy. And with Hababy come several other friends from the animal kingdom. The story is fun and it has a point. The pictures are bright and sure to delight any youngster. I hope this isn't the last time we meet this wonderful family ... both the camels and the Farrs.

Jamie and Joy Farr's book, "Hababy's Christmas Eve" is so delightful. Habeebee, Habeeba and Hababy are almost lifelike and sends a joyful message about Christmas. Illustrations by Alice io Oglesby bring the Camel family to life. This book is a great read and I would recommend it to all adults and children.

Joyce Rapier, author: "Windy John's me 'n tut" and "Windy John's, Rainbow and the Pot o' Gold"

I received an eBook for review and the pages progress slowly, however it is worth the wait while the wonderful illustrations move into place. I would be interested to see the paper copy of the book. This is a children's 32 page picture book I am happy to recommend for use by teachers, and parents.-Molly Martin, 20+ years teacher

I bought Jamie & Joy Farr's book to read to my great-grandchildren, and I think it's an inspirational little story about the camel family that Jamie first introduced on M.A.S.H. I especially enjoy the little fantasy that HABABY's ancestors were the camels that carried the wisemen as they followed the star to Baby Jesus.
The book is well-made and beautifully designed, too; the paper slick, and the illustrations especially colorful. My grand-children really loved it, and kept pointing to details in the fabulous illustrations.
Thanks, Jamie, Joy, & illustrator Alice for entertaining us in such a delightful way. I plan to place this book on our table every Christmas and hope it becomes an annual tradition ... reading it to our youngest ones ... beside a cozy fireplace.
Reviewer: BETTY DRAVIS, author of THE TOONIES INVADE SILICON VALLEY and MILLENNIUM BABE: THE PROPHECY



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Boy can Miss Biddlewick hold a grudge! I especially loved the Goobledeegop, the rhymes and the touching ending. My neices Jewel and Blaire just went crazy over it. It's all they ever want to hear now. I had to buy each their copy as they refused to share it! I can't wait for the sequel...is there going to be one?

Boy can Miss Biddlewick hold a grudge! I especially loved the Goobledeegop, the rhymes and the touching ending. My neices Jewel and Blaire just went crazy over it. It's all they ever want to hear now. I had to buy each their copy as they refused to share it! I can't wait for the sequel...is there going to be one?

This book was excellent. It is a modern day Grinch story, although in my opinion, it's better than the Grinch! It's got the excitement, humor, and happy ending that just keeps you enthralled.

I bought several to give as gifts to various neices and nephews. I even got them autographed by the actual authors, at the mall. The kids are going to love that.

A modern day Grinch Who Stole Christmas story, very well written. My daughter loved it!

I bought this book 10 years ago when my first daughter was born. The words flow and the illustrations are beautiful. It's a nice cozy sit down and cuddle with your kids before bed book. I keep it on the shelf and each Christmas season it comes out and gets read several times. A classic!

This book is a wonderful book for a quiet calm, nighttime story during the Christmas Holidays. It has calming text, calming pictures and yet it captures the majesty and awe that is Christmas better than any other Christmas story I've read. If you have young children and love Christmas, I heartily recommend this book.

This book builds up the mystery of Christmas. It begins with children snuggled in their beds, just as in Twas the Night Before Christmas. But these children can't sleep- -they want to touch the Christmas tree. They go downstairs and look at the tree and all the gifts. Then instead of hearing the clatter of hooves on the roof, they hear Christmas carolers out in the yard. Listening to the carolers, they return to their beds. The pictures and words capture the mystery and excitement of Christmas, without trying to impart a lesson or moral. All told, the book contains about 550 words.

I have been reading this book to preschoolers and Kindergarteners for over 15 years. They all love it. The book I have is an older edition and it only has a few colors in the illustrations. It doesn't matter, though. The words are so descriptive that the children are captivated. That's quite an accomplishment in today's world of TV and DVDs!