Festivals Books

I was read this book in gradeschool by our school principal. It is a story that stuck with me 30 years as a much loved telling of the life of Saint Nicholas. I was so glad to see this gem once again available and have purchased several copies for my nieces and nephews to enjoy.

Make this a holiday tradition for your family!

An excellent explanation of the customs followed surrounding Santa Claus

I have had this book since I was a child. My husband and I read it aloud each Christmas until we had a child and now it is part of our Christmas tradition with our 10 year old. It provided the perfect transition from the belief in Santa Claus to the true spirit of Christmas. Last year the book disappeared and we were so disappointed. Since I couldn't remember the author or the exact title I couldn't reorder it. I am delighted that it is still available and heartily recommend it to all parents.

When I was in 6th grade and far past the years of still believing, my teacher read this book to the class during the month of December. It really gives you a whole new belief in Santa adn Christmas. Since this time, my teacher loaned this book to another, and it was never returned. Now that I am a mother, I have been DESPERATELY searching high and low for a copy. (...)

This is a story that you will read every year at Christmas! If you can you will read it to someone:if not to someone for yourself. It will remind you why "you believe in Santa".
You will find yourself thinking that it MUST be all true. I have read this every year since the early 70s to a classroom of children. (Usally 6th Graders) They don't believe anymore, until after I read them this story, and once again they do!
The story tells everything about Nicholas in a VERY believable way.
If you can find this book I would recommend that you pay whatever it takes to get a copy! You will NOT be sorry!

I was so happy we ordered this on our child's Scholastic choices for the month! The illustrations are gorgeous as previous reviewers have said. They are almost kind of medieval in appearance.

The book is written in verse and has a beautiful lyrical quality to it.

Of course, the best part is the message. An angel goes to a stable and calls out some animals. Each of the animals has to choose what it will carry. It starts with the horse who chooses the strongest looking person. It then goes to a "lower" animal who chooses the good Samaritan. Although the Samaritan is good, he's not the best. The next animal chooses one of the wise men. The angel acknowledges he is wise and will discover what's at the star. The lowest animal, the donkey chooses Mary because she needs to be carried. The angel says that's the best choice as Mary is carrying the best of all. What a cute way of sharing the story of Jesus! I found myself just as entranced as my children!

This is one of the most beautiful books one could ever own. It's the story of the first Christmas told in lilting verse through the eyes of the animals. Richly illustrated with special embossed details make this book a treasure for many, many generations. I am proud to own it in my own personal collection, and will purchase many copies as Christmas gifts for my family and friends.

I gave this book to my 3 1/2 year old son for Christmas and was afraid it would be too sophisticated for him. But he loved it as much as I do because of the rhythm of the lovely poem and the absolutely gorgeous artwork with golden accents and embossed pages. A book not only to read and look at but also to "feel". It is different from the many other Christmas books and I highly recommend it.

In ancient Nazareth an angel had a riddle for the barn animals. Who was the greatest of the four travelers and which would carry him? One by one the creatures answered--the horse first picked the soldier. Two other animals answered before the donkey told the angel, "the lady waiting here who needs bearing most of all." The three other travelers and their beasts of burden followed the donkey to the stall where Jesus was born.

This retelling of the Christmas story flows gently through a simple poem. It is stunningly illustrated for young children. With thick embossed pages, and rich colors, many will buy the book for the illustrations alone. Its simple message will become a classic in many households. - Carol Stratton, Christian Book Previews.com

I was given this book as a gift. Words cannot describe how amazingly beautiful the illustrations are. The pages are high quality and textured so the kids love how it feels. The colors are vibrant and it is a nice and easily understandable version of the story of the first Christmas.

Great book for Easter season... pics are really nice and it is brief, making it a good read for the very young as well as older kids...

Our family really loves this story about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The young Jewish boy, Benjamin tells the story of Holy Week from his perspective. As he encounters Jesus through the week, he collects items for his treasure box that his grandfather, a shepard present in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth, had given him. His grandfather had included "hay" from the manger of baby Jesus. The very popular "Resurrection Eggs" can be used with the book, but are not required. This is a must for your Resurrection Day library!

If you are Catholic this book has one sentence in the Last Supper section that refers to the Eucharist as "symbolic." But the book is so great otherwise parents just black out one word and use it. GREAT KIDS BOOK!

This book is a tradition for our family -- our kids eagerly anticipate getting it out of the "Easter" box every spring. The illustrations are very beautiful yet very kid-friendly -- I *loved* the fact that they show children who (despite their era-appropriate clothing) look like any child you'll see today riding down the street on a skateboard. Also, Jesus has dark hair -- the illustrator didn't turn our thoroughly Jewish Lord into a blond haired, blue eyed European as so many artists do. Kudos for that! I can't recommend this book highly enough!

I heard a mother tell of reading this book to her children for Easter. My own son is now an adult ( no children yet) but I felt so strongly about the message of the book that I am buying it for my husband's grandchildren.

If you have a question about whether or not you need to great all the Max and Ruby books, don't hesitate to snap them up. These are the ones for buying, go get those other books at the library. This one is counting themed but not in any lame way. Max still wins and Ruby kind of does too and Grandma is still happy with everything.

That's what you need to know. Go buy now.

I have four young children. We love all the Max and Ruby books but this is one of favorites. Max's determination to invite his "friends" to Grandma's party is hilarious.

These are such cute books! They reinforce in a simple form the relationship of siblings. My daughter loves these two characters with sassy personalities. I reccomend the board books for the little ones.

Max and Ruby are my new favorite book characters in books for younger children. My kindergarten students love the short text, colorful illustrations, and of course, mischievous little Max. After reading the Easter book "Max's Chocolate Chicken" all Fall and Winter, I'm finally getting them some more Max books!

In "Bunny Party", Max's older sister Ruby, throws a party for their Grandma. Ruby's guest list includes her "Rapunzel", "Mr. and Mrs. Quack" and the "Tooth Fairy", but leaves no room for Max's favorite toys. Sneaky Max finds his own way to crash the party with his "Jellyball Shooter Spider" and several other guests.

I love Ruby because she is such a girl in the toys that she owns and in the type of party that she plans for Grandma. I love Max because he is such a boy in the toys that he owns and in the way he wants to be included in his older sister's party plans. And I love Rosemary Wells for creating characters that children will want to see to over and over again in stories that adults can also appreciate and enjoy.

I am rating this a 5-star book from the kids point of view. Kids just love the story, memorizing the names of all the toys that attend the bunny party, etc... My kids (a 4 year old boy and a 1.5 year old girl) drag out stuffed toys and a teaset at least three times a week to have a bunny party of their own.

If you buy this book, you will have to read it a gazillion times. From the parent's viewpoint, it's not the greatest book that you'll ever read a gazillion times to your kids, but it's way better than one of the books that you dread when they say, "Can we read it again tonight?" And hey, it's not our opinion that counts anyway, right?

Speech Language Pathologists (OK, and parents too):

This is one of the best books I have found for teaching theory of mind. Even though we can see the animals in the background, hauling carrots, THE RABBIT CAN'T SEE THEM AND DOESN'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. The rabbit even talks to animals that we have seen with the carrots, so if the child is ready for several perspectives within the book, this makes for an interesting discussion. For example, we see the dog wheeling carrots in the background while the rabbit talks to the mole. On the next page, the rabbit asks the dog if he's seen the carrots (meanwhile, the cat is carrying carrots). We can talk about who knows where the carrots are and who doesn't know. We can even talk about whether the dog probably knows what the cat is doing and why. Mind blowing, I know.

Even more advanced concept: When the rabbit asks where the carrots are, none of the animals tell him, yet none of them lie and say that they don't know. It's quite oblique. You can read into what they're saying. You can talk about their motives. Why would the dog say that he doesn't like carrots and to ask the cat? For many autistic children, the desire to keep a "fun" social secret like a surprise party is unfathomable.

This simple children's book is not so simple. And yet it IS, because it's comprehensible to typical 3-year-olds. I like it more each time I use it in therapy.

p.s. Another great theory of mind picture book is Rosie's Walk, by Pat Hutchins.

This is such a wonderful book. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't been reviewed more. The story line is great--complex enough to make reading it over and over bearable, but simple enough that even my 2-year old has started to memorize it. The surprise at the end is fantastic and brings a huge smile to my child's face each time.

CARROT SOUP

What a darling little book! I purchased two as Easter gifts; one for my grandson, three, and granddaughter who is ten months old. When I read this book to my grandson, all we did was laugh!

The illustrations are wonderful -- cute little animals, all with a secret for Rabbit. What first caught our eye was the balloons in the background with each animal -- cute and sweet and fun for kids!

We enjoyed the story line which deals with friends, working together, and, what else? CARROTS! Being big carrot eaters, we truly enjoyed the book and this made THE perfect Easter gift!! But it is a great book anytime of the year.

Get this book, get a bag of baby carrots and some ranch dressing, grab a kid or two and read and reread! You will truly love this book. There is also a wonderful recipe included for carrot soup.

Enjoy!

Thank you!
Pam

I never knew there were so many varieties of carrots. Through the book and colorful pictures, a rabbit is trying to plant, nurture, grow, and harvest its carrots. But when harvest time comes, they are gone. As the rabbit visits various other animals in search of the carrots, the reader notices some funny antics in the background, until we reach the surprise ending.

The hero of John Segal's "Carrot Soup" is obsessed with his garden. In particular, he's obsessed with his carrot crop.

"Carrot Soup" begins in the spring, "Rabbit's favorite season," when Rabbit orders seeds and begins planting. He orders Early Horn, Lunar White, Short 'n' Sweet, Bolero, Thumbelina, Sugarsnax, Paris Market and Autumn King carrots. And to think I thought carrots came in "regular" and "mini" sizes! Children will love Segal's illustrations of the different carrots in all their glory.

Rabbit plants his carrots, takes care of them in the proper way by weeding and plowing and watering. Oh, and waiting. And waiting and waiting and waiting.

When it's time to harvest and make carrot soup, the carrots have disappeared. Rabbit is highly distressed. He darts about asking all the animals in the neighborhood if they've seen his carrots. All's well that ends well, though, and Segal concludes his story with a great recipe for carrot soup.

"Carrot Soup" is an enchanting tale about friendship and hard work--perfect for a garden-themed read aloud. Segal's illustrations are infectious fun and the soup recipe a treat. Enjoy!

This book has won a Southern Books Competition Award of Merit in Book Design from the Southeastern Library Association. This award is given in recognition of the bookýs aesthetic appeal and design and for fine craftsmanship in its printing and binding. Congratulations to author Ruth L. Boling, designer and illustrator Tracey Dahle Carrier, printer Midas Printing, and the Geneva Press.

Ruth Boling's words and Tracy Carrier's illustrations combine to make a simple, yet powerful invitation for kids to experience the beauty of the Christian year. Most amazing are the details of Christian symbols on the mice's clothing and the facial expression on these very churchy mice. It's like looking at people in the pews I've known for years! The chart of symbols in the back is great. It would make a wonderful first communion, Sunday School, or Christmas gift. My kids love both the pictures and the text. I heard there is a matching Advent calendar but don't see that advertised here.

This charming book simplifies for children the traditions of the Christian church year. The delightful, rich illustrations are alive with wonderful, sensitive details. I cannot say enough about what a valuable resource this is for family and church communities. It makes all the special days throughout the church year more meaningful and more accessible to children and adults alike.

Along with Susan Hunt's Big Truths for Little Kids, this is my favorite book lately to give to parents whose kids have just been baptized. I do it more for the parents than the kids, though my 5 year old loves this book. It really shows the meaning and value behind the church calendar and symbols, in a lucid manner with nice illustrations. (Its a cutesy story about mice).

It often seems like Catholics I know and read tend to confuse the sign with the destination, while contemporary evangelicals (more Anabaptist than Reformational) throw away the sign all together, making it way harder to get to the destination.

Boling's work redeems it all - its a loving labor of 'sign-building!' C.S. Lewis said that the danger for Catholics at their worst is to become like every other religion (superstituous folk religion; syncretism), but the danger for (hyper-)Protestants at our worst is to become like no religion at all! Contemporary evangelcialism -- throwing away or relegating the sacraments to mere memorials, building churches without symbols or even crosses, stripping away all of the church calendar except Christmas and Easter (rescued there, only by Hallmark!), dispensing with all vestments and mystery in worship -- is becoming Lewis' nightmare.

I also think of Bunyan's allegory of there being 5 gates into Man-Soul: Eye-Gate, Ear-Gate, Nose-Gate, Mouth-Gate, Touch-Gate. We evangelicals (like Bunyan's Puritans) often close every gate except Ear-Gate in worship. In good Reformational fashion, (PCUSA pastor) Boling tries to open up Eye-Gate for us, with a rich, beautifully illustrated glossary of Christian symbols in the back.

Nothing real profound about the book, but such a nice little intro.

Great binding and illustrations the kids will like too.

Complete with spectacular illustrations, this is an easy to read and understand journey through the Christian year. A delightful church mouse shares his experiences of each key event in the life of the church (Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Easter, Pentecost, etc.). At the end are multiple pages with Christian symbols and their meaning. This is a wonderful book for families to share the with their children. Or, for adults wanting a charming and meaningful refresher course on the important days and symbols of their faith.

My husband is in the military and I found this book when we found out he was going to Kuwait for six months. The message is beautiful and my husband and I cried together while reading it. Since my daughter is only 9 mos. old we wanted a way for her to think of her Dad every day. Each night we look at his photo and read this book. It's a special way for me to let her know that her daddy loves her and that he's coming home soon. This book is perfect for any family in a similar situation.

My husband is in the Navy and we bought this book to read to our children as he prepares to leave for 14 months. It is very good at explaining that Daddy will always love his kids, even when he is gone. The only reason that I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it only deals with 1 month and a business trip. It differs from our situation, but overall it is a very good book.

My son and I read this book almost every night when his daddy was traveling for weeks at a time. It was a very difficult time. I think that my son could relate to the little boy in the story on how much he missed his daddy. When a young boy is away from his father for a long period of time, he begins to wonder if his daddy still loves him and misses him. This book helps to ease those fears and that it is all going to be "ok". We are giving this book to two little boys that are my son's friends who are losing their daddy for 8 months while he fights this "War on Terrorism" with the Army in Egypt. We think that maybe this book will help them to come up with their own rituals while their daddy is gone and maybe help to ease their fears.

My husband is in the military and I bought this book for my 4 and 2 year old before he deployed. This book was an extreme comfort to my 4 yr. old. I read it to her when she had a hard time dealing with my husbands deployment. It became a nightly ritual while he was gone. If your spouse is in the military, this is a must. It really hits home with the feelings and it also talked about daddies feelings too. We used the idea of saving things to show daddy and my daughter loved it.

This is the kind of thing that's going to be read on Father's Day for a long time. A sweet story of a boy and his father and how difficult their separation is when dad has to go on a trip. I loved it.

The artwork is beautiful and detailed. My three year old loves to find the cat in each picture and to find the faces in the windows, walls, and curtains. One can always find something new in the paintings. The story uses repetitious wording, so he can virtually read it to me. We have read this book many times, yet neither of us ever gets bored with it.

A friend recommended we purchase this book for our 2 year old. We did and she loves it. I thought it might scare her, but it was quite the opposite. She points out the rabbits, owls and cats throughout the book and laughs when she sees the mouse at the end. A truly great book and a quick "read" too.

This "Dark Dark Tale" by Ruth Brown is simple, short and sports a gothic flair. The illustrations (also by Brown) are nothing short of brilliant. Brown the artist captures the fog, shadows and light of her own dark dark little world. Perfect for preschoolers (my two year old loves it and always anticipates the ending), it holds their attention (there can't be more than 120 words in the entire book) with the repetative prose that children love. Perfect for lovers of children literature and childrens illustrations as well (which is what drew me to the book in the first place). We love it and read it daily.

A wonderful choice for young children at Halloween or any time of year. Reading this aloud is lots of fun -- you can make it seem scary as you go through each page, then watch your child's reaction at the end. My son wanted me to read this over and over. We also have fun looking for all the little critters in the forest: owls, bats, tiny glowing eyes peeking out of the dark places, the cat, even a badger!

This book is rather cute and there is a cat that runs through the pages, making an appearance here and there. I loved the fact that this book presents itself as a "dark, dark" book and it really is funny that it is not a "dark" tale at all. The "darkness" is more about
the lack of light than it being about evil.

You start in a moor and walk through a woods. Then there is a dark castle and you walk up to the door. Once you enter the castle, you are in a dark hall and go up some dark stairs. You are in a fairy tale castle and then you see a dark passage. You are tempted to look behind a dark curtain and then the cat stands looking up at a dark cupboard.

The last page shows a mouse in a box with a rather frightened look on its face. So the only fear in this book is that the cat has found the mouse. Although it does seem the cat leaves the mouse sleeping happily in his little bed with his miniature candle and miniature slippers.

The beauty of this book is in the art. Ruth Brown studied art at the Birmingham College of Art and the Royal College of Art. She has worked on animated films for the BBC.

Meowingly Cute.

~The Rebecca Review
Author of Seasoned with Love: A collection of
best-loved recipes inspired by over 40 cultures

One day, it begins to rain hearts, and young Cornelia Augusta begins to catch them. She realizes that these hearts would be great for making valentines. We watch her think of many different kinds of valentines, and think about who each one would be perfect for. What I love about this little book is the thoughtfulness Cornelia Augusta demonstrates, customizing each gift to please a particular friend (and the friends all turn out to be members of the animal world!). My young daughter enjoyed figuring out who each valentine was for and why. Very cute!

A wonderful and cute story. Short in length and great for younger children (ages 2-4). Definately recommend.

My mother bought this for Valentine's Day this year for my, then 2.5 year old, boy-girl twins and my kids love this book. It is May and we still read this book at least once a week.

The fact that little Cornelia looks at each heart and creates a special valentine card that matches the heart and the recipent shows thoughtfulness. I also liked that even though it never rained hearts again Cornelia wasn't disappointed or sad, but knew what to each Valentine's Day after that.

Our book also came with a page of stickers based on the illustrations in the book.

My six year old took the board book version of this book out of my hands. I meant to read it to my two year old son. Instead,
my first grader was enthralled with the illustrations, the story and the name of the loveable protagonist "Cornelia Augusta".

I especially enjoyed how ALL the rainbow hearts Cornelia Augusta catches are ALL different so she can craft personalized, different Valentine's for each recipient of one of her precious gifts.

The story is also a very opening one: there are always ways to create... no matter what the medium, what the celebration, whether the people are together or apart.

Also, I think the 3-5 year recommendation is a bit young. My 6 year old really enjoyed it as well, the language was perfect for a first grader.

It rains an abundance of hearts one day and
Cornielia Augusta catches them and brings them home and figures out who she wants to make things for.

She makes a necklace by stringing them together, then cuts holes in one and as the story goes on, the children try to guess who she made the valentins for.

It is simple and cute and give the children ideas about doing nice things for their friends.

ellen

I love every one of JA Jance's novels.The JP Beaumont and Joanna Brady series are my favorites. I have thoroughly been gripped by every one.

Failure to Appear J.A. Jance does it again in this 11th J.P. Beaumont mystery novel. Unlike most of the previous books, this one starts out, not with a crime, but with a personal mission. Detective Beaumont ("Beau" to his friends and associates) has left his Seattle home area to look for his runaway teenage daughter in an artsy community in Oregon. Of course, as anyone could have expected, violent crime soon intrudes.

For those who are familiar with this series, you can be assured that it is true Jance writing: characters who act like real people; a fast-moving story; plenty of self-deprecating humor; and a sterling protagonist who is all too aware of his not inconsiderable faults.

For those who are not familiar with J.P. Beaumont or Jance's Joanna Brady, who appears in a separate series, you have the pleasure of delightful discovery to look forward to. There are lots of books in this series. I've read 12 so far (and a bunch of the Brady ones, too) and I have yet to be disappointed with any of them.

If you're one who likes to start at the beginning of a series (which I think is not a bad idea with this one, for a number of reasons), the first is "Until Proven Guilty". However, if this isn't important to you, you can't go wrong with this or any of Jance's books, if you're in the mood for a fast-moving mystery novel with a bit more than usual in the way of character development.

My Wife reads these, and loves them! Looks like another all nighter to me!

In "Failure to Appear" lone-wolf Seattle homicide detective J.P. "Beau" Beaumont finds himself a fish out of water surrounded by family in southern Oregon and on the outside of a murder investigation.

Quite often, when a mystery author tries to fit so much of a protagonist's personal life into a book, the plot drags to a halt and the investigation into the crime is treated superficially because the focus is on massive character development. Jance manages to keep things moving at a fast clip and provide a mystery that is as multi-faceted as her lead character's personal difficulties. Beau has a lot to deal with in this book: a daughter who starts out a missing person and winds up pregnant and about to be married, a re-married ex-wife and her husband, a new girlfriend, a murder suspect that awakens painful memories, the siren song of a bottle of MacNaughton's, and a couple police officers out to nail his hide to a wall - not to mention the book's three murder victims or the loved one Beau loses in the course of the investigation.

There are a few nits that could be picked (Oregon vanity plates don't have 8 letters, for instance), but the quality of the rest of the book more than compensates. All in all, a great read.

This was the first Jance book I encountered. I decided to read it because it takes place in the town I live and work in. As much as I enjoyed reading about the places and cities I know well what I really enjoyed was the character of JP Beaumont. He is an ordinary man (a Seattle Cop wih an extraordinarily inherited fortune) who is caught between his work and his family. The characters seem very real and Jance's writing gives them a life and humanity that appeals strongly and makes you really care about them. The story never lets up either and you will find yourself hard pressed to put the book down. I have read every book Jance has written now and she is always on the top of my list of series that I am waiting for the next installment of!