Sure Picks for Your Holiday Shopping Cart
I adore this time of year because of all the beautiful books that come across my desk on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis. There is not enough time to review them all, but I can list some of the recent releases that have caught my eye and are certainly worth a second look.
There’s lots of fun books included below, so for all those ‘nice’ kids on your list, make some room in your shopping cart. Don’t forget to check out my Holiday Book Roundup and then become a fan of my Good Reads With Ronna blog on my Facebook page. Please leave a comment on Facebook for your chance to win 5 Christmas books which are described in a recent blog. Today is the last day to enter!
Richard Scarry’s Favorite Christmas Carols (Includes a musical keyboard!) from Sterling ($14.95, www.sterlingpublishing.com/kids; ages 4-8). Both my kids were huge Richard Scarry’s fans so when I saw this book, it brought back wonderful memories and a huge smile to my face. I even managed to pound out a few tunes.
Ho, Ho, Ho, Tucker! by Leslie McGuirk (Candlewick Storybook Animations) from Candlewick Press ($14.99, www.candlewick.com; ages 2-5). Kids will love sharing Christmas with Tucker, the Terrier. An all-in-one activity pack includes an interactive poster, stickers, full-color hardcover book and a dual disk DVD with animation on one side and audio on the other, including a bonus audio track with page-turn signals. Take along this winter break either in the car or on the plane.
The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown with pictures by Jim LaMarche (www.harpercollinschildrens.com, $6.99; ages 3-6). A classic Christmas tale by the author of Good Night Moon with illustrations as lovely as the story. Here’s a book certain to warm hearts on a chilly Christmas Eve.
The Berenstain Bears’ Christmas Tree by Stan & Jan Berenstain with Mike Berenstain (Zonderkidz.com, $12.99; ages 4-7). Meet the the Bear Family who, while searching for a Christmas tree, learn a meaningful lesson from their Bear Country Friends about the importance of respecting nature.
Coupons From Santa for Good Boys And Girls are adorable little stocking stuffers from Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky (www.sourcebooks.com, $5.99; ages 3 and up). There are 22 green, red and white cool coupons in here for parents to hand out offering special privileges such as: “Santa’s letting you invite a friend to sleep over tonight.”
Secret Santa is a colorful, clever book packed with pop-ups cluing kids into the secrets abounding about Santa and his elves! The book is illustrated by Simone Abel with design and paper engineering by Richard Jewitt (www.sterlingpublishing.com/kids, $16.95; ages 4-6). With letters from kids and Santa on every spread, maybe your kids’ questions are answered here.
Santa’s God by Neale Donald Walsch and illustrated by Em Claire (Hampton Roads Publishing Company, www.hamptonroadspub.com, $17.95; ages 4-8) is destined to become one of your family favorites. You’ll want to bring out this beautiful holiday book every year as you share this children’s fable “about the Biggest Question Ever.”
Additional titles worth noting:
The Nutcracker retold by John Cech and illustrated by Eric Puybaret
Maisy’s Snowy Christmas Eve by Lucy Cousins (A Holiday Board Book)
Christmas Tree by David Martin and illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Board Book)
Panda’s Christmas Gifts by Tara Jay Morrow and illustrated by Aaron Boyd
The Great Reindeer Rebellion by Lisa Trumbauer and illustrated by Jannie Ho
A Pussycat’s Christmas by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Anne Mortimer
