Tag: gift giving

Cover for Saint Nicholas the Giftgiver by Ned Bustard

12 Days – Book 2: Saint Nicholas the Giftgiver

Our second book in this 12 Days of Children’s Christmas Books is perfect for this Saint Nicholas Day! A fun look at the man in red himself: Saint Nicholas the Giftgiver by Ned Bustard, 2021.

We have never had Santa in our house, so books like this are perfectly apt and lovely. Obviously, if you have Santa in your house, this book might cause some confusion; but in my opinion, it adds so much depth to the myth and joy of Santa in however you choose to handle him.

It begins with this page asking a big question: what is the truth and what are the legends?

It then follows in brief the life that we know of the man who became Saint Nicholas and birthed the legend of Santa Claus.

We celebrate Saint Nicholas in small ways every year and this book has added much to our learning about him. Not a lot is certain about Nicholas, given his life was written down years after his death; but his love and devotion to Jesus was so strong, that reputation remains. He was known for great kindness and humility, and also a strong stance against heresy at the Council of Nicaea!

The stories of his secret care for the poor and struggling have stuck in people’s memories and were either miraculous themselves or so profound, they have grown in the retelling. Perhaps we are a bit too cynical in our modern minds for what was happening in those times that we find the only way to make sense of his story is to make it completely mythical and fairytale. Culture also conveniently likes to forget that he was a saint and wholly devoted to Jesus. He earned his official sainthood for his devotion to God and care for the poor; and he also earned persecution. His is a story worth remembering in as much detail as we can find.

I really enjoy this book in its retelling of the story of Saint Nicholas. Bustard’s writing is spare and lyrical. I don’t often love a rhyming text unless done very well, but Bustard pulls it off well and classically here. And I’m fairly certain these illustrations are linocut as that is Bustard’s claim to artistic fame and style, though I cannot find a note on the art.

Check out this lovely book for your own Saint Nicholas remembering. I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

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Cover image of Ink the Cat's Christmas on Christmas wrapping with a ribbon and tag with 1 on it.

12 Days – Book 1: Ink the Cat’s Christmas

This first book in our 12 Days of Children’s Christmas Books is super exciting to share, though it might seem too self-serving. Do oblige and forgive me. I feel that I would be incredibly remiss though to not share about my first fully authored and illustrated book here on my children’s book blog!

Meet my newest book: Ink the Cat’s Christmas by me, Caryn Schafer! I worked on this story and images for about 3 years and was finally able to put it together and get it gorgeously printed here in the UK last December. I love introducing this beloved character to the world!

Ink the Cat first appeared nearly ten years ago in an Inktober challenge. I created him for the daily prompts and he has continued to capture my imagination with ideas for his life, personality and stories. There is an original Ink the Cat story long in the works about his life in an apartment in NYC…; but this Christmas story came together much more smoothly and is now the official first Ink the Cat book in the world. The others will come soon, I hope!

In this tale, Ink the Cat is anticipating a wonderful season as all the Christmas pieces come out in his home. He is very curious about everything and exhausts himself on Christmas Eve, falling asleep while his (unseen) human family sings and parties around him.

Ink’s peaceful nap is disrupted by a surprise visitor and the rest of the night holds many sweet delights for Ink and the reader.

I am so proud of this little book… and little it is! I have a deep love for small and tiny books and I patterned this book after my beloved Beatrix Potter’s style. It fits perfectly in little hands, bags, and even Christmas stockings! It is a limited color palette and the red hardcover holds a little printed surprise, hidden by the lovely dust jacket. I even got to make end papers which I adore!

Thanks for indulging me in sharing this special little book for our first of the 12 Days of Christmas Children’s Books. I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek. There are even better photos of it on my website and if you fancy a copy, grab one there! (international shipping is insane, but I do my best with it. Tip: if you buy two books or four books, you get better shipping due to the weight. So maybe find a friend who wants one too!) I am currently the only place to get copies and they are very wonderfully made completely here in the UK. The printer I used was fantastic and did such great quality. I really hope it looks and feels like the classic story it is. And I hope you love Ink the Cat as much as I do… and stay tuned for his many more adventures!

I’ll be back tomorrow with my next book to share! Thanks for reading along and letting me share a bit of my work too!

CarynLeave a comment

2019 Favs – Book 7: The Piano Recital

There are some books that you have to read first before you form an opinion, and that is generally the accepted rule, you know the whole “don’t judge a book by its cover” thing. But occasionally there are books that grab you from the very start. Books that you just know are going to run away with your heart or your imagination or your emotions. I’m happy to say that today’s book was one of those books for me. I spied this on the lower shelf of a bookstore and I couldn’t walk away from it. I just had to pick it up and read it and it didn’t let me down. A delightful story about a little girl’s first recital and her exciting and magical discovery that completely calms her nerves. Take a peek at The Piano Recital by Akiko Miyakoshi, 2019.

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2019 Favs – Book 5: Our Favorite Day

I’m so excited to share this debut picture book today! I’ve met the creator, Joowon, a couple of times and I was so delighted to finally see this book on the shelves. A heartwarming, simple, and beautiful story about a grandfather’s routine and his favorite day of the week spent with his granddaughter. Come and see Our Favorite Day by Joowon Oh, 2019.

Continue reading “2019 Favs – Book 5: Our Favorite Day” →

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