25 Reads of Xmas #10

Every day in December leading up to Christmas we’ll be reading a book to enjoy the season. Join us as we enjoy seasonal reads that are perfect to celebrate the holidays!

If you’re looking for a short and humorous read this Christmas season, I’d advise picking up this book by Anne Fine

Ralph can’t wait for the holidays to be over and he’s not the only one. Christmas has never been quite this stressful and that’s saying a lot. With all of their family over for the holidays, Mom’s working really hard to feed everyone, Dad and Uncle Tristram are making trouble, and Ralph’s just trying to avoid having to do a lot of hard work. After all, he deserves a vacation too, doesn’t he? Plus, having to endure his annoying cousin Titania, irritating aunts and uncles, and his viciously grumpy great-granny has got to count for some kind of work. With all of the crazy Ralph’s got to endure this holiday, he’ll be lucky if he survives this Christmas!

This book is sweet and to the point while providing a little bit of levity during the mad holiday rush. Parents will enjoy this read as will their children and it’s even more fun to flip through together.

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25 Reads of Xmas #9

Every day in December leading up to Christmas we’ll be reading a book to enjoy the season. Join us as we enjoy seasonal reads that are perfect to celebrate the holidays!

Today’s read is by an author I’m sure many of you have heard of: Cornelia Funke.

Niklas Goodfellow is Santa Claus…kind of. Well, he’s a Santa of a sort. He mingles with angels, is assisted by elves he keeps in a special chest, and he does have a white beard, albeit one that is fake. When he comes to his next destination, local resident Ben is amazed by Niklas. He enjoys visiting the caravan, until the mousy Charlotte shows up. They may not be good friends, if they are friends at all, but Ben and Charlotte will have to join forces to stop the ruthless hunter Gerold Geronimus Goblynch, whose only goal is to stop Niklas and Christmas itself.  Together, Santa, Charlotte, Ben, the angels, elves, and Lightning the reindeer must stop their enemy or risk losing the holiday all together!

With her usual wit, charm, and humor, Cornelia Funke pieces together a unique Christmas story that manages to capture the spirit of childhood, Christmas, and adventure all in one. I recommend this read this holiday season!

25 Reads of Xmas #8

Every day in December leading up to Christmas we’ll be reading a book to enjoy the season. Join us as we enjoy seasonal reads that are perfect to celebrate the holidays!

If you’re a fan of the Polar Express film, here’s a novelized version that you can enjoy this holiday season.

Trip to the North Pole is inspired by both the Chris Van Allsburg illustrated book and the film. Its primary source is the latter, which can definitely be seen in this finished product. It follows the same path as the animated film and is told pretty well. It’s a basic read that can be enjoyed by almost anyone who really likes the film or the original picture book. There are also plenty of pictures in the middle from the film, so if you’re in need of a visual refresher, it’s right there for you to enjoy.

This is a pretty basic read re-written by Ellen Weiss from the film, but it’s really enjoyable to page through. Kids can read this without a lot of help needed, so it’s a pretty simple read for children too. Check it out this holiday season.

25 Reads of Xmas #7

Every day in December leading up to Christmas we’ll be reading a book to enjoy the season. Join us as we enjoy seasonal reads that are perfect to celebrate the holidays!

If you enjoyed Matt Haig’s first Christmas adventure, detailing the rise of Santa Claus as we know him, you’ll enjoy this follow-up read that details the beginnings of his trips around the world.

Father Christmas has everything under hand. He’s got his red suit made just right and the elves are working hard. But something is not just right. Darkness lurks at the North Pole and it grows by day. Meanwhile, the girl who first made Christmas what it is has fallen prey to hard times. She’s losing hope in the magic she once believed in and if Father Christmas is to save the holiday, he’s going to have save Amelia as well, before it’s too late!

Like the previous novel, Matt Haig does an excellent job of creating an original Christmas story that also fills out Santa Claus lore. Kids will enjoy it for the quirky illustrations, rollicking adventure, and entertaining storyline. I advise checking it out this holiday season!

 

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Today marks a significant event in our country’s history. It was the day that America faced one of the most shocking, devastating attacks to that date. Hundreds of men lost their lives. Countless more had to watch, without a way to save those they had fought and trained with. Such a brutal act is something to be remembered and the lives of those both lost and barely kept should be honored. I pray that we never have to suffer another such attack, that we would be alert, watchful, and ready. And to any of those who were alive when such an attack happened, I salute you. You all survived a time of hardship and perseverance. Yet we as a country managed to keep up patriotism, independence, and strength. May God give us those qualities as we face whatever this century holds.

25 Reads of Xmas #6

Every day in December leading up to Christmas we’ll be reading a book to enjoy the season. Join us as we enjoy seasonal reads that are perfect to celebrate the holidays!

If you’ve ever wondered where Santa Claus comes from, this book might just answer all of your questions!

Nikolas may not be as lucky as other children, with their big houses and mounds of toys, but he has everything he could ever want for. He has his father, his mouse companion Miika, and a cottage in which to keep warm. So, perhaps yes, it’s not the ideal place. And perhaps he and his father are hungry on more than one night. Maybe this is the reason why on one night in the middle of summer when a mysterious gentleman shows up out of nowhere, Nikolas’ father agrees to take a job that will lead him far away from his son. At first, Nikolas can manage without his father, even if that means putting up with nasty Aunt Carlotta. But soon, he begins to become worried for his father’s life and it’s not long before Nikolas has decided to take on the mission of finding the last member of his family, even if that means trekking to the farthest reaches of the earth, saving a village of elves, and facing his greatest fears to do so!

This is a pretty well-written read by Matt Haig. It’s clever and answers lots of questions that children may have about Santa Claus, though I will say it’s peppered with lots of boy humor that I didn’t appreciate. However, younger readers will no doubt find the humor quite on point and enjoy this read, especially if it is read to them. No matter how your family chooses to make their way through this read, I hope you get a chance to enjoy it this Christmas season.

25 Reads of Xmas #5

Every day in December leading up to Christmas we’ll be reading a book to enjoy the season. Join us as we enjoy seasonal reads that are perfect to celebrate the holidays!

If you’re a fan of classic English literature, you’ll enjoy this next holiday read.

William Horwood returns to the willows with this heartwarming tale that celebrates the holidays with old-fashioned cheer. In this new novel, Mole, Ratty, and Toad are ready to discuss the Christmas season. They can’t wait to enjoy the spirit of generosity and friendship together. Until the irritating Mrs. Ffleshe arrives and suddenly the holiday has turned into a much more pompous affair that treads on all of Toad’s fun. He can hardly be wild and colorful when he’s always being told to “do this” and “do that”. Mole and Ratty want their good friend to be happy, but what starts out as a charming plan to make the holidays a little better turns into a rather mad dash that ends with the trio facing jail once more and the question: what are they going to do to fix this Christmas?

I’ve always been a huge fan of The Wind in the Willows since I read it for required reading years and years ago, so I enjoyed reading through this book. It’s always great to return to the riverbank to visit the charming anthropomorphic animals that captured our hearts the first time. Pick this up for a sentimental trip through the past as well as an enjoyable holiday read filled with all sorts of mischief and magic!

25 Reads of Xmas #4

Every day in December leading up to Christmas we’ll be reading a book to enjoy the season. Join us as we enjoy seasonal reads that are perfect to celebrate the holidays!

When I was little, I was a bit of a ballet nut. I used to take classes, so I guess it makes sense why I’ve always had a love of the art. Whatever the case, this Christmas season I wanted to review a retelling of one of the more famous ballet stories, The Nutcracker.

It is the night of Christmas Eve and Marie is excited for the festivities. When her godfather Drosselmeyer appears, she can’t wait to open her gift, for his presents are always the best. This year, she’s received a lovely Nutcracker and it comes with a story. As their godfather weaves a story both magical and fascinating, Marie is amazed by this tale. When midnight falls, the story comes to life for Marie, drawing her into a world where magic abounds, fairies dance in a land of sweets – and a dangerous Rat King lurks waiting to finish the job his dastardly mother started. Can she save her beloved Nutcracker before it’s too late?

Michael Hague does a masterful job of not only retelling the story we know and love, but also of re-writing the story in such a way that it manages to incorporate most of the original elements from E. T. A. Hoffman’s original text. For those who have never experienced the original Nutcracker story outside of the ballet, this is an intriguing look into the tale that has captured the imaginations of people all over the world.

25 Reads of Xmas #3

Every day in December leading up to Christmas we’ll be reading a book to enjoy the season. Join us as we enjoy seasonal reads that are perfect to celebrate the holidays!

We’re reading a heartwarming tale of family and promises on the third day of 25 Reads of Xmas…

Christa should love the holiday season. There’s plenty to enthrall about the Christmas activities and maybe she’d enjoy it if it weren’t for the fact that her parents aren’t together anymore. And this holiday season is just going to be worse when her mom decides that she’s going on a holiday vacation with her to Europe away from her dad. The last thing she wants to do is leave with her mom while she’s trying to figure out how she feels about the divorce that’s apparently been going on for three months before she was ever told. In addition, her dad’s slipped her a special package with a long list of dares for her to complete over the course of the holidays. It’s all menial stuff, like making cookies and looking at Christmas lights, nothing that can make up for the horrendous truth that is her parent’s divorce. But the further Christa gets through the list and the more she continues to do so with her friends, the more she thinks that maybe, just maybe, this Christmas just might be…okay?

The 12 Dares of Christa is a well-written read by Marissa Burt that discusses problems kids can definitely relate to. Coming of age as well as issues of parents separating are discussed in this novel with humor and honesty in a way that kids will definitely understand. Plus, the European location is pretty interesting for a Christmas story. I’d advise checking this out at least once; it’s worth a read this holiday season.

25 Reads of Xmas #2

Every day in December leading up to Christmas we’ll be reading a book to enjoy the season. Join us as we enjoy seasonal reads that are perfect to celebrate the holidays!

Today we’ll be reading a rollicking adventure that takes historical fiction, Christmas spirit, high adventure, kid mysteries, and smushes them all together in this one great read!

There’s nothing quite like Christmas morning, that bright sunny time filled with presents and joy. That is, unless you’re a naughty kid, like Peter finds himself on Christmas morning. He’s never figured himself for a naughty kid until he finds a scrap of paper in his living room with his name marked down next to the term Know-It-All. He’s found Santa’s naughty list, filled with the names of all the kids who possess the naughty traits that equal a lump of coal in their stocking. Most kids would take this laying down, but not the Know-It-All. Instead, he decides to team up with other members of the list, assembling a group including the Liar, the Rude, the Cruel, and more. Together, they’re the No-Good Nine and they’re going to make Santa Claus take back his policy on coal if it’s the last thing they do!

This was a really fun read. Honestly, it’s just a wild ride filled with all sorts of historical Easter eggs from Al Capone to the wildest flings of legal instance. John Brememlmans Marciano does an excellent job of crafting this read that takes readers from the humdrum life of 1931 America to the snowy reaches of the North Pole. It’s a book that you’ll definitely want to return to every holiday season!