20 December 2010

Christmas Reads

Okay, so I am totally tardy and apologize. I have GREAT plans for NEXT WEEK but somehow forgot all about this week… forgive me please… I have editing brain.

As to this week’s post, I thought I’d go with some Christmas stories… seems fitting, ne? [I should probably admit beforehand, too, that in spite of Christmas having a specific meaning to Christians, I have geared toward more secular themes here.]

The Night Before Christmas

I had this story memorized at age 2—my mother thought I was actually reading. I loved it THAT MUCH. I can still say most of it (and periodically embarrass my children by breaking into it). When I was a kid cadence was EVERYTHING and this book has fabulous cadence and such a fun tale…


How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Like all Seuss, this one ALSO has great cadence, but it is one of those I really prefer to WATCH. The book just doesn’t get across the same evil of the Grinch or evoke the same sympathy for Max.


The Polar Express

This book has beautiful art and a great story, though I confess it doesn’t meet my cadence junkie needs… but in terms of a more modern tale, this is one of the better ones.







And for older readers

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

This is one of those that I have seen MANY times and in many iterations and love the story, but I haven’t actually read it. I probably should…


Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

This one isn’t JUST Christmas, but there is an important Christmas theme running through it—I think it is a good one to read around this time to make us all appreciate what is really important.






And though I haven’t read this next one… when I looked to see if there were adult Christmas book recommendations, I ran across one that I now HAVE TO FIND”

Holidays on Ice: Stories- David Sedaris

I’ve read enough Sedaris to know that this HAS to be fall-down funny, and I think I’ve heard essays from it on NPR—it includes an essay about working as an elf in a department store.

6 comments:

Cinette said...

All old favorites, except for the last one; never heard of it!

Sue said...

Great list. Must look for the last one, it's new to me. Just looking at the covers of those childhood books brings back floods of memories, of the sound of the pages turning, and the smell of the paper too. Thanks.

CA Heaven said...

There's a nice Christmas story by Leo Tolstoy: The Old Shoemaker. Many many years ago, right after high school, I worked as a teacher sub for one year, in elementary school on a small island off the coast of Winterland. I was teaching language class in 5th grade. Before Christmas, we dramatized this short story by Tolstoy (I've always been a big fan of Russian classics). It was a great success. The kids had a lot of fun and the parents loved it when they came to watch the performance >:)

Cold As Heaven

Hart Johnson said...

Thank you everyone!

CaH-I will have to look for that--I am a huge Tolstoy fan and somehow that sounds familiar--in fact I think I've seen a Harry Potter fan fic that is a knock off of it (I know... sounds silly--but it was a familiar story even then)--I think I just didn't know it was Tolstoy.

LTM said...

oh! Catherine used to LOVE the night before Christmas when she was a little girl... She was fascinated by the line "as dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly..." --?

She's also reading Little Women now, and we just read the Polar Express at bedtime two nights ago!!! LOVE these!

And I'm so gettin that Sedaris one--we have his other two... *snort* ;p

Merry Christmas, burrowers~

Ella said...

Love the list; I will have to check out David Sedaris, I know his comedic sister also authors book~