Counting down to Christmas with a new holiday book each day!

Little Santa by Jon Agee

You can always count on Jon Agee to see the world from a different perspective, and this Santa origin story is a perfect example of that!

In this version, Santa is the youngest member of the Claus family, and the only one who enjoys the cold snowy winters at the North Pole.  When the family decides to move to Florida, only Santa is sad.  But when their plans are foiled by a roof-high blizzard on the eve of moving day, Santa comes to the rescue by shimmying up the chimney and bringing back reinforcements to dig the family out.

You can probably guess who his little helpers are, and what happens afterwards!

Use this video to get your students thinking about what Santa was like as a child before you share the book with them:

Enjoy this Horn Book interview with Jon Agee and this Kirkus interview with Jon Agee to learn more about how this book came to be.

 

Counting down to Christmas with a new holiday book each day!

Skippyjon Jones Snow What by Judy Schachner

I debated whether or not to include this one in the countdown, because it’s not technically a holiday book; it’s more of a re-imagined fairy tale with a winter setting.  But who can resist a new Skippyjon Jones book?

In this newest adventure, little Kitten Britches is not interested in listening to any old girly fairy tale about Snow White.  He’d rather set out with his chihuahua friends on a search for Snow What, even if it means tangling with a dragon!

Things you don’t want to miss in this book:

• Skippyjon’s “disagreeable face”
• Skippyjon wearing his long-johns on his head
• Skippyjon wearing his long-johns as Prince tights
• Skippyjon with an ice cube stuck on his nose
• the CD of Judy Schachner reading the story, included with the book

You also don’t want to miss these Skippyjon extras from Schachner’s website.

And you absolutely, positively don’t want to miss this video intro to the book:

And if you’re like me, you’re probably going to want to read all the other Skippyjon Jones books too!

 

Counting down to Christmas with a new holiday book each day!

Here Comes Santa Cat by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Claudia Rueda

I just got this book Tuesday, and it’s already a favorite! The text and the illustrations of Cat (who communicates by holding up signs) work together perfectly.  I don’t know when I’ve ever seen a more expressive cat in a picture book — Rueda just nails it on every page!  (I know, I’m gushing again.)

In this sequel to Here Comes the Easter Cat, Cat is worried that he’s been too naughty to get a present from Santa.

After being convinced that dressing as Santa and giving himself a gift is not the solution, Cat tries a few last-minute efforts at being nice.  Unfortunately, gift-giving doesn’t come naturally to Cat, and it isn’t until Santa himself steps in that Cat discovers the true meaning of the season.

There aren’t a lot of activities for this book floating around on the internet yet, but two ideas that come to mind are:

• having children make their own pie charts to show where they stand on the “naughty or nice” issue
• using the book as a basis for a Reader’s Theater activity, with the kids making the signs that Cat uses in the story

For Twitter users, take note of this tweet from Penguin publishers:

Use #SantaCat to tell Cat what you want for Christmas & you could win a copy of Here Comes Santa Cat! #Giveaway ends 12/19. US only.

— Penguin Kids (@penguinkids) December 18, 2014

 

Enjoy the book trailer!

 

Counting down to Christmas with a new holiday book each day!

The 12 Days of Christmas by Jane Cabrera

Another version of the popular Christmas carol, this time substituting animals, elves, stars, and snowmen for the traditional gifts.  Not only are the new lyrics more meaningful to children (who I’m sure would much rather receive cats and penguins than French hens and drummers), but the illustrations are lively and cheerful enough to keep readers poring over the pages.

The book ends with a bang (a ride in Santa’s sleigh!), and includes sheet music.

If you like this book, you’re sure to enjoy Jane Cabrera’s other illustrated song books.

You’ll also want to visit her blog to see more of her original art!

 

Counting down to Christmas with a new holiday book each day!

Turkey Claus by Wendy Silvano, illustrated by Lee Harper

In this sequel to Turkey Trouble by the same duo, Turkey once again finds himself in trouble at holiday time.  He has safely avoided becoming Thanksgiving dinner, but now the farmer and his wife are deciding on their Christmas menu….

The only way for Turkey to avoid the oven is to deliver a Christmas wish to Santa at the North Pole, but when an overly-officious elf refuses to allow him to bother Santa,he has to come up with a disguise.  Or two.  Or Five.

The only extras I could find online for this book were paid extension activities at Teachers Pay Teachers.  If you know of anything free, please leave a comment and share it!

 

 

Counting down to Christmas with a new holiday book each day!

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidel by Caryn Yacowitz, illustrated by David Slonim

We are all familiar with the original “old lady” rhyme (There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly), and we are all familiar with at least one spin-off (There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed…Some Snow!, Some Leaves!, A Pie, A Bell!, etc) but this newest twist takes the concept to a whole new level!

The author kept the same progressive format while incorporating some traditional symbols of Hanukkah into the rhyme, and as a bonus the illustrator gives us a mini art history lesson on every page!

The parodies of famous artwork makes this a book that EVERYONE can enjoy, even non-Jewish readers who know nothing about Hanukkah customs.

Watch this book trailer for more details:

Visit David Slonim’s site to learn more about the art.

Make your own dreidel with the template on this Scholastic Story Corner worksheet

Then sing the dreidel song with the guys from The Learning Station:

 

 

Counting down to Christmas with a new holiday book each day!

 An Otis Christmas by Loren Long

Long offers something for machine-lovers and something for horse-lovers in this seasonal offering as Otis helps provide a miracle for the farmer and his pregnant mare.

The book begins with the usual holiday festivities on the farm.  “On Christmas Eve, the farmer came to the barn and fed the animals their traditional Christmas meal of bran mash with chopped apples and brown sugar. Otis delighted in watching them dig in around the trough. He knew how much they loved the special treat.”  The farmer has a gift for Otis, too; one he wears proudly.  Little does anyone realize how important that gift will become as problems develop when the horse goes into labor, and the farm truck sent to fetch the vet gets stuck in the snow.

Visit Loren Long’s Otis page for a video introducing Otis.

And visit the Otis Site for an online preview of the book.