passionately sharing, discussing and admiring children's picture books
Day 16 brings another new book this year that is a delightful reinvention of The Nutcracker. Set in Sugar Hill in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, this familiar, yet completely new story is an amazing tribute to the classic while giving unique honor to the power of jazz on the American soul. Add this one to your shelves immediately: The Nutcracker in Harlem by T. E. McMorrow, illustrated by James Ransome, 2017.
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Day 15 brings us a brand new book from a favorite picture book creator. You can never have too many counting books and at Christmas, a counting book is most likely in the form of this carol. This carol can be annoying. Really annoying when it gets stuck in your head. And if you really think about what the carol is talking about, what’s happening can actually be perceived as annoying too. Enter Greg Pizzoli and his hilarious animals with their simple exaggerated expressions. This book arrived just in time for the 2017 Christmas season and is here for your enjoyment today. Check out (and then go buy) The 12 Days of Christmas by Greg Pizzoli, 2017.
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Day 14 brings another visit to Sesame Street, but this time on Christmas Eve. My girls and I first discovered this story via the narrated album. We actually love to listen to Sesame Street albums, particularly the stories. There is something hilarious, captivating and magical about the muppets telling famous or invented stories in their own quirky ways. And this Christmas story caught our ears and became quickly beloved last year. There are several songs sung by Bob and the rest of the gang that are delightful. (The book includes sheet music in the front and back.) The album is narrated by the ever elusive Santa Claus, a fact that is only revealed at the end (spoiler) and continues to delight my children every time! At some point, while we continued to listen to it on repeat, I looked it up and discovered it was actually a television special. We love watching that as well! And late in the season last year, I tracked this illustrated version of it down. You could say we love (are obsessed) with this story. Join us for Christmas Eve on Sesame Street created by Jon Stone, illustrated by Joe Mathieu, 1981.
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Day 13 is a good day for poetry. Christmas poetry that is. And the funnier, the better. Enter Jack Prelutsky. His poetry is always hilarious, but also relatable. Let’s take a look at It’s Christmas by Jack Prelutsky, pictures by Marylin Hafner, 1981.
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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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Day 11 takes us to a cranberry bog with the smell of pine in the wind, and the frozen fresh water pond. Doing a quick check of the blog, I am shocked to realize that I never posted about Cranberry Thanksgiving here. I mentioned it in a storytime post, but considering it is a classic Thanksgiving holiday book for me, I feel remiss.
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Three Books a Night 