Christmas books….

Another Christmas tradition around here is getting out the Christmas books…and books are a big deal around here.  We used to have everyone pick out a Christmas book  to buy every year..but then we just got too many books.

Everyone has their favorite book and loves to be the first one to read it…..especially to River…oh, and to the cat.

I try to tell River that she has to read every book at least once..but before we start re-reading them.  That doesn’t always stick!

Thanksgiving Books for Vegetarians…..

I love to have children’s books for different holidays…but Thanksgiving books are a bit of a challenge…since we are vegetarian.  We didn’t want to have any books that involved eating turkey.

We have found quite a few over the years and I thought I would share them with you…..

‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey – One of my all time favorite books…I love everything about this book…its message, its rhyme and its drawings!

Five Little Turkeys – cute little counting book

The Tasty Thanksgiving Feast by Suzy Jane Tanner – a lift the flap book

Happy Thanksgiving Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli – a typical Biscuit book with a cute thanksgiving message

Thanksgiving in the Barn by Nadine Bernard Westcott – a popup book that celebrates Thanksgiving in a barn..very cute

Thanksgiving Cats by Jean Marzollo – simple little book

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting – a nicely illustrated book that has a nice message.  This book involves Mrs. Moose “wanting a turkey” for Thanksgiving..so Mr. Moose goes out looking for one…..at one point, when Mr. Moose finds the turkey and is chasing it…he stops the fallen turkey by putting his hoof on the poor turkey’s head..this I didn’t particularly like..especially because it is illustrated…. except for that…it is a cute book that has a happy ending for the turkey!

365 Stories….


We have a “book” called 365 Stories. It will eventually have 365 stories, but as of now..it probably only has 80!

Some day it will have 365 stories…some day.

I can’t believe we started the book six years ago. I must say I had hoped to have all the days filled in by now. But, life got in the way…..

Sometimes Quinn will write the story and do the illustrations, sometimes Tuesday will draw the pictures and Quinn will write the stories or sometimes I will make the story! It is a little bit of everything..all creative!!

It actually is quite fun that the stories are spanning many years. We started it when Quinn was only 4 years old and River wasn’t even around! Now she is old enough to start working on some stories. On holidays or special occasions, it is fun to see what type of story the kids come up with to memorialize that event! They love going back and reading the stories over and over again!

Summer Reading Programs…..

My children love to read and there is nothing better than free books.  So all the different summer reading programs are great!

My kids did the Barnes and Noble Reading program, which lets you get a free book after reading 8 books.

Then they did the Borders Reading program, which lets you get a free book after reading 10 books.

Then our local library has a summer reading program.  Each time you have read for 5 hours, you get to spin the wheel and choose a prize.  To participate in the Barnes and Noble and the Borders programs, you have to be in first grade…so River couldn’t participate in those…but she could participate in the local library’s program.  The first time she spun the wheel..she won a great little board book called It’s Useful to Have a Duck.  This week when she spun the wheel she got a rubber ducky…and she was just as excited as when she won the book.  Quinn also spun the wheel and won a hardback book..so he was very happy also.

Then the kids also participated in TD Bank’s summer reading program, which lets you earn 10 dollars for your savings account after reading 10 books.

So, all in all, they are doing pretty well when it comes to summer reading programs!

Christmas Countdown….Day 3

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We have a lot of Christmas/Holiday traditions in our family.  I love them all.  The first thing we get out is the Christmas music.  My in-laws used to live in Maryland and when we drove down for Thanksgiving, we would bring all the Christmas music for the ride.

The next thing we get out are all the Christmas stuffed animals.  I don’t love these as much as the kids love them.  We have lots of musical ones that are loud and get quite tiring after the first day….the kids love to play them over and over and over!

The next thing we get out are the Christmas books!  These I love and so does everyone else!  We have A LOT of Christmas books.  Every year it is fun to get them out and reread them all. Some are more loved than others.  Six of my favorite all-time favorite Christmas books are:

1.  The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Anderson.  When I was a little girl I would read this story over and over again..I always hoped that the little girl would find a home and not freeze to death..but the story never changed.  I actually have found some newer versions where the little girl doesn’t die at the end..but that just isn’t the story….When I read it still..I think it is so beautiful and sad….it always brings a tear to my eye.

2.  Santa’s Favorite Story by Hisako Aoki and Ivan Gantschev.  Even though I am not religious, I love this book and the story it tells.  It is simple, yet complex.  And the illustrations are gorgeous!  It is a story about a sleeping Santa and how the animals are very concerned if Christmas will go on with a tired Santa.  It talks about the true meaning of Christmas.

3.  A Dozen Silk Diapers by Melissa Kajpust and Illustrated by Veselina Tomova.  This might be my all time favorite of the favorites!  The story is so incredibly..cloth diapering mothers will love it!  It is such a creative story…and the illustrations are vivid and so unusual and beautiful.  It is about a family of spiders who wonder what they can give as a gift to the new baby Jesus.

4.  The Night After Christmas.  This story reminds me of the Little Match Girl. I received this book as a gift a long time ago and took it to heart.  I am an animal lover and the little dog in the book is so loving and kind.  It is about some homeless toys and how a little homeless dog helps them all.  In the end, he doesn’t find a home, though he helps everyone else find one……such a sad ending!

5.   The Snow Child which is a folk tale retold by Freya Littledale and illustrated by Barbara Lavallee.  This story is about an older couple who always wanted children and never had any…so finally a little snow child comes to them and becomes their child..but she must go away every summer.  Again, it is a sad story, yet beautiful.

6.  The Night Tree by Eve Bunting.  This is a very nice story about traditions and nature.  A family that goes into the woods every year and decorates a tree for the animals.  So simple, yet important.