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

 Santa Claus the World’s Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee

Can I just gush for a moment about how much I enjoy Marla Frazee’s artwork?  From her delightful romp A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (my personal favorite) to the charming All the World (written by Liz Garton Scanlon) to the triumphant Walk On!: A Guide for Babies of All Ages to her new wordless book The Farmer and the Clown to her spunky drawings for Sara Pennypacker’s Clementine books, I’m just a HUGE fan of her illustrations!

Okay, now that I have that out of my system, I can talk about this book.

Have you ever thought about how much preparation goes into choosing and wrapping toys for ALL the good boys and girls in the world?  Frazee takes us behind the scenes as Santa prepares throughout the year for the Big Day by meeting children, testing toys, and selecting the perfect gifts for everyone on his list.  (It involves lots of sticky notes and cocoa!  You can see both in the excerpt below.)  She even includes one final surprise on the back cover — don’t miss it!

Learn more by reading this interview with Marla Frazee and by watching this video:

Harcourt Books has provided some stickers and coloring sheets for the book.

Download a free I’M A TOY EXPERT TOO! writing worksheet based on the book.

 

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

The Snowflake Sisters by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Lisa Desimini

These two snowflake sisters don’t look exactly alike (no two snowflakes do, right?) but they both share an adventurous spirit!  In this rhyming story by former Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis, we follow the sisters as they swirl and spin through the sky, enjoying the sights and sounds of winter.

Whether it’s watching the children outside at play, traveling with Santa as he rides on his sleigh, or romping with a snowman on a cold frosty day (okay, that was MY attempt at a rhyming review!) Desimini’s collage artwork gives a cozy feeling to even the snowiest scenes.

Lewis provides additional resources for the book at his Poetry Toolbox blog.

Today’s post is actually a two-fer, because I can’t talk about A snowflake book without mentioning THE snowflake book:

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian

This Caldecott Award-winner is not in any way a Christmas story, but this poignant look at Wilson Bentley, a man who felt his life’s purpose was fulfilled when he was able to share his miraculously detailed photos of snowflakes with the world, makes a nice companion book to The Snowflake Sisters.

Listen as Wilson Bentley expresses his feelings about snowflakes:

 

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

How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky, illustrated by S.D. Schindler

An imaginative look at how Santa’s skills and life experiences work together to create the perfect man for the North Pole job, this book makes a great read-aloud for all ages.

It’s a great story to reinforce the idea that you never know what may prove useful later in life, and to spark a discussion about how everyone has different strengths and abilities that make them good at different things.

You’ll want to plan some follow-up activities after sharing this story; here are some ideas to get you started:

• A Reader’s Theater script for the book
• A Character and Plot activity for young learners
• Some Sequencing and Cause/Effect activities for elementary learners
• A Substitute Santa Job Application
• Discussion Questions with an Economic Slant for upper elementary learners

 

 

 

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

Night Tree by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ted Rand

“On the night before Christmas we always go to find our tree.”  But the twist here is that the family is not looking for a tree to cut down and take home; they are looking for a tree to decorate with popcorn, fruit, and sunflower seed balls as a gift for the animals of the woods.

Bunting has crafted a simple, quiet story that emphasizes the spirit of giving and the importance of holiday traditions — a welcome antidote to the frantic commercialism so prevalent during the Christmas season.  Share this book as an introduction to starting your own classroom or family tradition of making edible ornaments for an outdoor tree!

Use these ideas for creating edible ornaments for wildlife from Clemson University.

Enjoy this Jeopardy-style game using details from Night Tree for one or two players (or teams)

 

 

 

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

A New Improved Santa by Patricia Rae Wolff, illustrated by Lynne Cravath

“To thine own self be true” for the elementary school crowd.  In this humorous tale, Santa addresses the after-Christmas letdown by resolving to make some improvements to his style and his lifestyle.

We follow him throughout a year of dieting (January), exercising (February), hairstyling (March), and more until by the end of the year he has become thoroughly unrecognizable!  Fortunately, Mrs. Claus has been keeping a wise eye on the proceedings and is ready with a solution.

Scholastic has a follow-up activity for the book.

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

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner

The sequel to Snowmen at Night, this book explores how snowmen celebrate the Christmas season once the humans have all gone to bed.  It’s nice to find a rhyming story that flows so smoothly from one stanza to the next, but where this book really shines — and I mean that literally — is in its illustrations.

Mark Buehner is the Caravaggio of the picture book world, and his luminous art compels the reader to linger over each page.  (So does the note at the end of the book inviting readers to look for a cat, a rabbit, a Santa face, a T-Rex, and a little brown mouse hidden in each painting!)

At the time of this posting, you can enjoy Snowmen at Night, Snowmen at Christmas, and the Buehner’s third offering Snowmen All Year for free at the We Give Books website!