Tag: Advent

25 Days – Book 12: The Berenstain Bears’ Christmas Tree

Day 12 brings a lovely tale of a Christmas tree for a family of beloved bears. I don’t know about your families, but around here there is a lot of love for the (vintage) Berenstain Bears. Most of our books are from the 70s and 80s and were my husbands. Our girls have taken a strong liking to them all on their own. I’m not sure if it is the size of the books, the familiarity of the characters, or the simplicity of the stories that has them so captivated. I was excited to track down this book last Christmas. It is a special holiday book based on the NBC-TV Christmas show (which we actually haven’t seen). Warm your heart and your spirit this season with The Berenstain Bears’ Christmas Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain, 1980.

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25 Days – Book 10: A Child’s Christmas in Wales (Ill. Schart Hyman)

Day 10 of our Christmas countdown is ending after a long Sunday. The Christmas preparation is starting to wear on me a bit and I’m taking a deep breath, hoping to make it through this coming last week of school before the holiday break. Somehow, this book always seems to find me when I’m too tired for the holiday. I wrote a long post about this story last year with illustrations by Chris Raschka. I just reread my post and have considered simply reposting it here as appropriate. Ha! I think I did an excellent job discussing the story in that post, so here I will talk about this version’s illustrations. It is my new favorite version of this book due completely to the illustrations. So come get lost in the art of A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (1954) , illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, 1985.

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25 Days – Book 9: Manger

Day 9 brings us a book of selected poems. This book is so incredibly lovely, I was quite surprised to realize I haven’t featured it before. It is a book about Christmas Eve. About a moment when, if all creatures were given human thought and speech, they might utter responses to welcome and comfort the baby Jesus in the manger. Allow yourself to wonder with Manger, poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Helen Cann, 2014.

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25 Days – Book 7: Where Is Christmas, Jesse Bear?

Day 7 of the Christmas Picture Book Countdown! This summer I discovered the delightful series about Jesse Bear that begin in 1986 and ran through 2004. My three year old fell hard for that lovable bear and I swoon over the childhood favorite illustrator, Bruce Degen, and his fantastic backdrops and enchanted world around Jesse Bear. I’m slowly tracking down vintage copies of the series, and our most recent acquisition is this special Christmas story! I’m sure I’ll be talking more about this lovable bear in the near future, but let me start by sharing Where Is Christmas, Jesse Bear? by Nancy White Carlstrom, illustrated by Bruce Degen, 2000.

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