1 comments about The Night Before Christmas (board book).

1. Reading, "The Night before Christmas", it to my great granddaughter, brought back many happy memories.

5 comments about Mary's First Christmas.

1. I have read this story to my three children and we all love it! It brings you back to the time Jesus was born and how Mary and Joseph felt about becoming parents to the Son of God. It is unlike any other Christmas book we have read. The illustrations are also remarkable. We think it is a "must have book" for everyone's library.



2. This book is quite wonderful. My kids loved it! The illustrations are very nice and the story of the first Christmas is well told. Entertaining for both parents and kids. The glimpse into the life of Jesus as a small boy is very well done, especially considering that we know nothing of his childhood from the Scriptures, except for his birth and the story of when he was thought lost but was in the temple. The story brings Mary and Jesus and even Josheph alive for the reader.



3. I've been collecting children's Christmas books for years, but this is one of the most beautiful and original ones I have ever seen. Religious Christmas books don't have a lot of variety in the story, of course. They tell about the birth of Jesus and no matter how beautiful the story is, everyone tells it pretty much the same way. The only thing that usually distinguishes one nativity book from another is the quality of the illustrations.

   The illustrations in this book are nice, although nothing spectacular. But Walter Wangerin has found a unique way of telling the story. He has Mary tell the child Jesus (he looks about six or seven) about how he was born. It's a wonderful approach because every child loves to hear about the day he or she was born, and this gives them a strong identification with Jesus, and creates a touching sense of the warm relationship between Mary and her son that is usually missing from nativity stories. Her emphasis in telling the story is on all the love he was given at birth Ñ from God, from Mary and Joseph, from the angels, and from shepherds and kings.

   The other unique quality of this book is that throughout the story, in subtle ways (but directly enough so that my six-year-old was aware of it) the author reminds you that Jesus will die. Mary tells the birth story to Jesus to comfort him when he is treated cruelly by other children (and she seems well aware that this will not be the last time he is treated horribly), and in the final illustration, Joseph is teaching Jesus some carpentry skills and we see Jesus joining two pieces of wood together in the shape of a cross. It is a sad undertone, one you don't usually find in Christmas books (and one many parents may prefer to avoid at Christmas time). But the context is this: at his birth, God and the world gave Jesus love, and through his death he returned that love. At Christmas, we usually focus on the joy not the sorrow, but I found this book very moving, and so did my daughter. We have dozens of Christmas books in the house, but over the past few weeks she's been asking for this one almost every day.




4. This was an innovative and novel way to retell a familiar story, however Mary came off more ditzy than maternal. She "giggled" and "pinched Joseph's nose" when springing the news on him that she's pregnant (quipping that she is "fat" because of reason that "wiggles deep inside" her) and she is just dumbfounded when Joseph is stunned and angry over her condition. Then when her parents try to comfort her, she tells them both "leave me alone," behaving like a pouty teen rather than the woman chosen to be the mother of mankind's savior.

   The section on Mary's visit with Elizabeth was much better --- very touching and it had a very "real" feel to it. But she was back to shouting and stomping about in Bethlehem, giving birth by "pushing so hard" she could force "a boulder up a hill." Again, not quite the image of the Blessed Virgin I want to share with my kids at Christmastime.

   Overall, the book is good but it is not "a tradition" in our family for the above reasons. Try "A Very Small Miracle" for a nice "new take" on the ancient tale.




5. This beautiful book is far more than the Christmas story recounted. Instead the author takes us back into time, into the everyday life of Mary, Joseph, and young Jesus, in a setting far more culturally accurate than most children's books do. It is a tender, thoughtful story with beautiful illustrations, and is one of our perennial favorites.

1 comments about Spot's Christmas board book (Spot).

1. My 10 month old is so-so about books. However, he really LOVES this one. That is, in fact, why I am here. He loves this book so much that I am online searching for more Spot books. Every time I flip the page he squeals with delight! This book is highly recommended.

No comments about Shushybye: Where Is Christmas?.

5 comments about The Advent Book.

1. We've had our Advent Book for seven years. Opening it on December first every year has become tradition in our family - and one which our boys eagerly anticipate. It always seems to captivate our friends and neighbors, too, and has even become traditions in those homes where we've given them as gifts or when our friends have purchased their own copies. Thanks again, Stockmans!



2. We just got this book, and our kids (4 and 2) love it! It's a great way to introduce the REAL Christmas story to kids. It is a beautiful book and has doors that open for each day of Advent. It would be great for older kids, and even adults, too.



3. This is such a beautiful Advent book. We have used it for several years now. Beginning December first, you start with the first page. Every day you open a page and look behind the door for a piece of the Nativity Story. The next day you begin again, stopping each day on that day's date. The children learn the story so well with the repeatability. They eagerly take part. Even our youngest repeats after us to be included. We have a copy for each of our daughters so they will have a keepsake in their adult life. It is also a wonderful baby gift. The illustrations are lovely. This is a great opportunity with your family to prepare for Christmas.



4. My daughter and I enjoyed using this book very much during the Advent season. Nice quality, fun to open the doors.



5. I ORDERED THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON THE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER. AT THE TIME I ORDERED, THIS BOOK WAS STILL TEMP. OUT OF STOCK. AFTER PLACING ORDER I WAS TOLD IT WOULD BE DELIVERED AFTER JANUARY 19TH. AFTER NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS AND EMAILS TO AMAZON, I STILL DO NOT HAVE THIS BOOK. I HAVE SPOKEN WITH A SUPERVISOR ABOUT WHY THIS BOOK IS STILL BEING SOLD ON SITE IF THEY CAN'T EVEN GET A HOLD OF IT. IN DECEMBER I EMAILED THE ACTUAL WRITERS OF THE BOOK (JACK AND CATHY STOCKMAN-BECAUSE YOU COULD BUY A COPY FROM THEIR WEBSITE FOR JUST MORE MONEY)AND RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM THEM SAYING THAT THIS BOOK IS OUT OF PRINT NOW-THEY LOST THEIR PUBLISHING RIGHTS AND ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING IT BACK IN PRINT. SO PLEASE DO NOT PLACE YOUR ORDER WITH AMAZON. IT IS NOW 2-26-08 AND I STILL DON'T HAVE THE BOOK. AND WHEN I ORDERED BACK IN DEC. THE BOOK WAS AROUND $23. AMAZON INCREASED THEIR PRICE AND THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO GET THESE BOOKS FOR A LONG TIME, IF AT ALL.

No comments about Christmas Secret.

2 comments about Little Red's Christmas Story (Little Red Adventures).

1. Christmas Eve has arrived at Buttercup Cottage, and Little Red and her wonderful friends have set off on their yearly trip to Christmas Tree Wood, where they plan on bringing their favorite fir tree home for the holidays. Along their way, they work together on delivering shortbread to the robins, and sugary cinnamon sticks to the mouse family. However, as they approach Christmas Tree Wood, Little Red is shocked to find her very good friend, Santa Claus, with a big problem: One of his reindeers is sick, and now he only has seven to pull the sleigh! But with Little Red's wonderful thinking cap, and a bit of help from Roany the Pony, Little Blue, and the rest of her friend's, all of the children in the world will be able to get exactly what they wanted for the holiday, and Little Red will make it back to Buttercup Cottage in order to spend the rest of the holiday with her fantastic friends!
   
   Sarah Ferguson has done an amazing job of creating a character such as Little Red who is utterly adorable, while at the same time sweeter than pie. The wonderful prose featured within LITTLE RED'S CHRISTMAS STORY is lovely, while the illustrations by Sam Williams, couldn't be cuter. This is a wonderful Christmas story that will live on in the hearts of readers for years and years to come.
   
   Erika Sorocco
   Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper



2. I think that Little Red is a wonderful, well written story. Sarah Ferguson really knows how to reach small children with her writings.
   I would recommend this and the other Little Red books in the series.

5 comments about Happy Holidays, Jessi (Baby-Sitters Club).

1. I really liked this installment. Jessi, the narrator describes Kwanzaa, the African holiday and the history and traditions about Kwanzaa.

   Jessi's redoubtable Aunt Cecilia is just as overly punitive as ever, until her father intervenes and reminds her that as long as she is living in HIS house, she will have to abide by HIS rules and not try to enforce her own. He defends his children and reminds his sister yet again that Jessi and her 8-year-old sister are still children and to cut them some slack. Chastened, the girls' aunt vows to do an about face and once again takes them Christmas shopping. Instead of chewing them out for being hungry or clowing around, the aunt bites her tongue. The only thing I had trouble with was her allowing the girls' baby brother to ride outside of his car seat when he becomes restless and fussy.

   Unfortunately, they are involved in an accident and Squirt (John, Jr.) has to be hospitalized. Distraught over the baby's injuries, the parents chew the aunt out for her sheer irresponsibility (why would any ADULT allow a baby to ride in a car without being properly harnessed)? The Kwanzaa gatherings with other members of Jessi's family are strained and everybody is up in arms over the harm done to poor Squirt.

   The subplot is excellent. Ann Martin has a real gift for creating dialog and scenes. The other members of the BSC plan a Kwanzaa skit and the BSCers and charges alike all get into the spirit of Kwanzaa and actually learn a few things. I laughed at the hilarious story of Malindy's Soul, the story the group put on. It was a delightful farce and really quite well woven into the story.

   Fortunately, Squirt recovers and everybody has a wonderful holiday. Instead of Santa, everybody follows the Kwanzaa celebration. This book is really good.




2. In Happy Holidays Jessi, Jessi wants to have the kids in the neighborhood celebrate Kwanzaa. But then when Jessi, her sister, Aunt Cecelia, and Squirt get in a car accident, Squirt gets hurt. Will the Kwanzaa celebration happen? Or is it history?



3. It's the Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa time, (AGAIN,) for the BSC and Jessi decides to educate the BSC's sitting charges about Kwanzaa by putting on a play based on the old African legend Malindy Meets the Devil, (or something like that.) But then tragedy strikes. While Jessi is riding in the car with her Aunt, younger sister Becca and her baby brother Sqwirt, they get involved in a car crash, resulting in young Sqwirts head injury. Jessi starts to think that her Holidays are ruined, but are they?



4. Jessi is filled with holiday excitement. She loves Christmas, and she can't wait for Kwanzaa, when her whole family- including out-of-town relatives-will celebrate together.
   But then a terrible accident occurs. Squirt hurst his head in a car crash and is rushed to the hospital.
   Everyone is relieved to find out that Squirt will be okay. But meanwhile, the stress of the accident has taken it's toll on the family.
   If holidays are supposed to be being together, then why is Jessi's family being pulled far apart?



5. squirt,jessi,becca,and aunt Ceclia are all involved in a car crash. Squirt gets hurt and jessi predicts it will be the worst Kwanzaa and Christmas ever. Buy the book if your into drama and love towards your family.

1 comments about The Night Before A Dogtown Christmas.

1. Terrific story. My Daughter loves it. The pictures are nice and colorful! awesome book! Thank so much for creating such a fun story...She wants to read it all year long. its become her favorite Book!

No comments about Happy Christmas, Honey!.