Christmas Books

Before I sent this on to a child for Christmas I had to read it.........great story..........loved it

I bought this book for my two year old. He enjoys the richly colored pictures and woodland animals. The story shows the spirit of Christmas through giving and friendship which makes it a hit with me, too.

Book was in excellent condition and received in good time, especially with it being around Christmas.

I loved M. Christina Butler's Book "One Winter's Day" and this is her follow up called "One Snowy Night" It's another charming winter tale that your child is sure to love. It's a touch and feel book, which has a nice, tactile feel. That along with great illustrations by Tina Macnaughton will leave you "warm and fuzzy" If your child loves hedgehogs, be sure to also check out the Gilbert the hedgehog books by Diane Degroat.

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home" and editor "Of A Predatory Heart"

Beautiful illustrations and very descriptive writing. My class enjoyed this book!

As always, Patricia Polacco scored another "A" with this heartwarming story. My second grade students sit mesmerized as I read yet another moving story from Patricia Polacco's rich collection of life stories.

This is a beautiful story about giving, sharing, and loving. It's a tear-jerker too. Patricia Polacco is an amazing author who has shared stories from her family which can now enrich the lives of all who read. I highly recommend this book.

Excellent book. Delightful story with excellent pictures. We thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to both adults and children. A great way to bring the true spirit of Christmas into your home during the Christmas season. Highly recommend.

This beautiful story moves me to tears each time I read it, and this year I am giving several copies as gifts. It is set in the 30s or 40s in rural Michigan. The Stowell family is preparing for Christmas. They don't have much money, but remember to share what they have with others, feeding hobos who stop in their village while the train is refueling. Frankie gives a prized possession to one of them who is in need. Later his family's kindness is repaid in a wonderful way. I don't want to give that part away, or tell what happens on Christmas Eve, but it involves the family's tradition of placing a juicy, ripe orange for each child (very hard to come by in those days in a wintery climate) on the mantle and enjoying them during their Christmas Eve party. Read the book to find out what happens; you'll be glad you did. The artwork is lovely and expressive, and the icing on the cake is knowing that this is a true story. The author's Grandmother and Great-Aunts and Uncles were the Stowell children of this story.

My 4yo daughter and I made our first trek to the library together recently and the first book she pulled from the shelf was An Orange for Frankie. She asked me to read it to her right there in the library, and, as I did, I thought it might be a little over her head. Ten minutes later she was still sitting beside me, enraptured and asking me questions about the story... and what a beautifully touching story it was! As we neared the last page, I had tears streaming down my cheeks and we (of course) had to check the book out. I read it again to my mother and my husband. Both thought it was as touching as I did. Anyway, I decided to purchase it as a Christmas gift for my daughter to celebrate and remember our first trip to the library together.

An Orange for Frankie is a touching story of a young boy who learns about truthfulness, obedience and the gift of sharing. An absolute delight to read!

This book has excellent recipes; not just for the holidays but all year round. Love it!! I even ordered some more of Louise Stolzfus' cookbooks

This cookbook is hands down my favorite cookbook of all time, it is jammed
with recipes, little stories and great variety, it isn't your everyday
cookbook. I have given this cookbook as a gift many times. Try it you
WILL like it.

Whether you are a quilter or not, you will love this cookbook.
The variety and quality of recipes is amazing...I probably have 70 cookbooks, but this is one that I can rely on regularly for having good recipes that are straight-forward, easy to follow, and (best of all!) delicious to eat. So many friends have asked for recipes that originated from this cookbook that, when they see the great collection, they ended up buying this cookbook, too!

My favorite holiday cookbook, but also fabulous for good company recipes, potluck dinners or when you just want something a little special for those you love at home. Recipes from appetizers to desserts. Comfort food and ethnic specialities! A to Z!!

I also love reading the notes in the corners with memories of Christmas' past and enjoy seeing the regional specialties from different parts of the country. It is also interesting to see what kind of quilts patterns are being made throughout the states and that this wonderful artform is being kept alive.

A must have for anyone who loves Louise Stoltzfus' compilation cookbooks! Or anyone who loves good old fashioned good food!

`A Quilter's Christmas Cookbook' by `Good Books' (in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) editors Louise Stoltzfus and Dawn J. Ranck is a genuine bargain for traditional recipe collectors who keep their magazine cutouts in little `tin' filing cans designed for holding 3" by 5" index cards. I know this because this is exactly how my mother keeps her recipes, and so many of the recipes in this book are the very same she has in her little gray can.

For a list price of a mere $13.95, we get 330 pages of recipes, stuffed to almost always three to a page, giving us close to 900 very traditional holiday recipes. A quick look at the title, publisher, and the names of the editors may lead one to think that this book is all about Pennsylvania Dutch recipes, but it is not. The book is a collection of recipes from quilting hobbyists from all over the country. And, the traditional Amish and Mennonite centers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York State are in the distinct minority, While there are a fairly large number of contributions from small towns in southeastern Pennsylvania (Punxsutawney, PA seems to have an inordinately large number of contributors), my hunch is that there is at least one recipe here from every state in the Union, and some from Canada.

In spite of the geographical diversity, there is a great commonality in the style of recipes. Not only do most of them hint of hundreds of little gray boxes from around the country, there is also a strong spirit of pre-Julia Child 1950s style of cooking epitomized by Poppy Cannon, of `Can Opener Gourmet' and other books in that spirit. Two of the symptoms of this style are the use of margarine in place of butter and the heavy use of packaged gelatins (`Jell-O'). The fact that these recipes come from all over the country makes this uniformity even more dramatic. The third symptom is a heavy use of canned goods, especially canned soups, vegetables, and fruits.

As simple as almost all these recipes appear to the casual browser, many are simply too simple. For example, there is virtually never any statement of what size of egg to use in the recipe (The editors could not make such a statement, as there was no way they could know if our 900 contributors all used the same size egg.) Similarly, few recipes specify salted or unsalted butter, in the few cases where butter is used. There are also very few baking recipes that give instructions on how to determine that the baked goods are `done'. I see one recipe with such an instruction, but most recipes on either side of this example have none. So, these are distinctly NOT the kind of recipes you will find in `Gourmet', `Bon Appetit', or even `Martha Stewart Living'. I suspect that you will also not find recipes of this type in `Good Housekeeping', as all our major culinary media have been thoroughly steeped in the `fresh, fresh, fresh' and `local ingredients' mantras of Alice Waters and Deborah Madison.

All this suggests that the editors, like the editors of church and social group cookbooks all tend to assume that their readers already know how to cook well, and are much more interested in the variety in dish than they are about honing their already quite satisfactory cooking skills.

In a brief lapse of focus, I noticed that there seemed to be a rather large number of recipes using cranberries. When I came to my senses, I realized that this is, after all, a book of Christmas recipes, and the cranberry comes into season late in the year, just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But this doesn't explain the four-(4) rhubarb recipes, when rhubarb is a traditional spring and early summer speciality.

I don't want to leave this book without stating that for a very large cookbook audience, this book is exactly what they are looking for. An enormous collection of relatively easy recipes providing excellent ideas for what to make in the weeks surrounding Christmas. So what if there is no `bouche de Noel' recipe which requires a day to make and the patience of a saint, not to mention the skills of a journeyman pastry chef. And, this book is inexpensive enough and small enough so that it will sit alongside the household's copy of `The Joy of Cooking' without taking too many family resources.

I confess there is just a bit of the insider's interest in the book, as each recipe's headnote includes the name of the quilting pattern the contributor is making when they submitted their recipe. I look at these names and draw a complete blank, although I suspect that among the quilting community, they are as well known as `Extra Virgin', `Colcannon', and `Ratatouille' are to us foodies. If I were to offer any suggestion to the editors, it would be to include a picture of each quilt, or at least some distinctive part of each quilt in the headnote, but then, this would probably double the price of the book.

Neither `Gourmet' nor `Pennsylvania Dutch', but an immense collection for Christmas cooking.The huge chapter on Christmas cookies and the Christmas breakfast dishes alone make this book worth getting.

What a holiday surprise to be surfing Amazon for gifts and find a beautiful christmas book written by my long lost cousin. I'm purchasing the book for my first grandchild with pride and love. Thank you.

What a fun and clever story about how Santa makes his way into all our homes! Our family loves it!

Best children's Christmas story of 2007. Our grandchildren just loved Ralph.

Ralph & Jeannette

This original and creative Christmas story is perfect for children of all ages and a wonderful addition to your Christmas traditions.

This creative story is entertaining for both children and their parents. It adds a new twist to the legend of Santa and his elves, as well as, provides a much-needed answer to the mystery of how Santa gets his job done.

That the illustrator, Ronald Paolillo, is the same man who played Arnold Horshack on Welcome Back, Kotter (under the name Ron Palillo)? Welcome back, Ronald! You are an excellent illustrator and I can wait to see more of your work.

I have the book and have since purchased the cassettes. A must for your family. Wesley Eure does a fantastic job narrating this story.

This is a great book. Both my kids and I really enjoyed it. It's filled with surprises.

You might think this book is babyish because it is about toys in santas sack but it is not.The author puts so much emotion and so much adventure into it that it is the perfect book for young teens!! If you are 9-13 and like fantasy I think you will love this book.

Great book! A little boy loses all that his life is only to find out the real meaning of joy and love. Well developed characters - some funny bits. And some tears. Short chapters make this an easy read for children's attention spans. Good classroom book - a chapter a day between Thanksgiving and Christmas during quiet time.

I recently stumbled upon these books. I bought this one as well as a few of the states ones (H is for Hoosier, C is for Cornhusker, B is for Buckeye). I think these books are really cute. I am a huge book person when it comes to children's books anyway. I thought this S is for Star book would be a neat tradition to start with our children to read each Christmas season.

This book is very informative and would be wonderful to read one letter each day leading up to christmas with a school age child. I bought this book for my 7 month old nephew and while it is nicely illustrated, I don't think it will hold his attention very well as it is much better suited to an older child. I would not suggest this book for children under 5, simply because of the reading level.

As an elementary teacher, I loved the layout, illustrations and information in this book. It reaches across age and learning ranges by having two levels of information - a shorter rhyming stanza and then extremely detailed information in the margins. The illustrations were beautiful and engaging even for children below the recommended age range - a book that will truly grow with your children! Also, it addresses Christmas traditions from cultures around the world and represents an evangelical Christian viewpoint of Jesus Christ.

I picked this up in person at the bookstore, and I bought 4 copies. We are using them for gift exchanges as well as a copy for ourselves. I homeschool two young children and decided to do two letters a day from this book and came up with a coordinating activity for each letter. There is a plethora of Christmas information within these pages. You can use it just for the rhyming portion, or go more in depth and study the margins which have everything from Bible verses to explaining the origins of certain traditions, and all sorts of interesting tidbits. The illustrations are beautiful as well. We are really enjoying it!

This book solidifies why I love Sleeping Bear Press.

The illustrations are wonderful, but the extra facts about the traditions of Christmas are just great. I learned so much just by reading this book, such as "X is for Christ." I never realized why we abbreviated Christmas, at times, for Xmas, but now I know because of this book. The book talks a lot about Christian traditions, but tells of other traditions all over the world, such as what other countries eat for their "feast."

This book is great for anyone who wants to learn more about Christmas traditions!

This book is both hilarious and touching. A modern fairy tale, something like a combination of Dr. Seuss and Bloom County. The enchanting story pops off the page thanks to the illustrations, which are in a league with (though a different style from) Stephen Gammell and Chris Van Allsburg. Highly recommended.

What a wonderful addition to anyone's library whether you are 7 or 70. An interesting twist on an otherwise incredible tale of childhood dreams and hopes. The illustrations are wonderful and imaginative. I know I will enjoy this book for many years and look forward to sharing it with my family. Enjoy!

with an abundance of enchanting illustrations throughout. This inspired book is charming and poignant and truly captures the wonder of Christmas in an imaginative way.

Saint Nick & the Space Nicks is a wonderful holiday treat for children
of all ages. Brilliant illustrations and a wildly imaginative story make this a must for all Christmas-loving kids and adults. Buy this book and read it with your kids, you'll all love it.

This is a must have to add to your child's book collection. Amazing illustrations and an equally entertaining story...how could you go wrong. This will hold your interest no matter what age you are. Finally an original story that get is truly a joy to read.

This book is a lot of fun. My 2yo daughter was petrified of Santa and this book has enabled us to overcome this.

After a couple reads at bedtime, it was impossible to get past various pages without having to allocate the various toys, wrapping paper and gifts to each of her friends and family. It became a wonderful exercise for her memory, as she would remember that the white paper with blue stars is for "Pop" and the scooter is for "Joshie" and big present with the multi-coloured stipes is for "Nanna", etc. etc. Daddy (me) was allocated the really lame "pink dots on orange" present and I am the one who has read it to her a gazillion times: charming!

Well written, fun, cheeky - this book is great and has provided us with a lot of joy.

(Miss 2 y.o. can recite the book front to back - that's how many times we've read it!)

I just got this book for my son, and now I'm buying a copy for my soon-to-be nieces. This is the best Santa story book I've ever read! It's fun and delightful and you can't help but laugh at the big task Santa has every year. You will NOT be disappointed! The illustrations are fantastic and it will bring delight to your face as well as your children's! A must-have for every family!!

Marla Frazee has put all other Santa books to shame. If you own ONE book about Santa let it be this one. Her words and illustrations perfectly capture this great jolly man. Full of humor, warmth and tenderness it should definitely be in every stocking for generations to come.

Santa Claus is a pretty smart person. He knows just about all there is to know about kids, toys and the gifts kids want. And in Santa Claus the World's Number One Toy Expert, the reader is privy to the way Santa gets to know all the world's children.

We're shown how Santa makes sure all the toys are fun and learn that 99.9% of the time Santa, through hard work and practice, makes sure that each child receives the 'exact right toy.' The other 1%? No one is perfect, not even Santa Claus.

Children will be drawn into the story of how Santa does what he does. The illustrations are whimsical and add to the explanation.

Armchair Interviews says: The prediction is that children will read this book and dream of their perfect Christmas toy.

I love the illustrations in this book, Santa on a pogo stick, Santa surrounded by all of his empty mugs of hot coccoa after figuring out the perfect gift for every child (perfect 99.9% of the time).

This book is about how the perfect gift from Santa ends up under the Christmas tree.

I just thought this book was adorable, well written and with fantastic illustrations.

When Santa needs a vacation, all the other holiday characters pitch in to help with Christmas. Reiss and Catrow make a great pair. A silly story with many tongue-in-cheek jokes makes this funny for both adults and kids. Be sure to look at the illustrations for further humor. Great detail in the artwork.

We bought "Santa Claustrophobia" for our annual Christmas book (year 12). The author has created another fun story with witty writing and wonderful illustrations. Kids and adults will find this book is filled with Christmas fun!
I also recommend Mike Reiss' "How Murray Saved Christmas" ; you will not be disappointed!

What a great writer with an amazingly creative mind! How Murray Saved Christmas & Santa Claustrophobia are my 2 favorite Christmas books to read to our kids. I cannot recommend them enough. I have purchased them for my nieces and nephews too!

My family and I have already enjoyed a couple of other books by Mike Reiss, and this one shares his lively wit and terrific way with language. The illustrations are gorgeous, and almost as funny as the text. If you read to your kids, and you've got "Santa Claustrophobia" on hand, you'll look forward to the story hour as much as they do.

Poor Santa is burned out. He asks for advice from Doc Holiday. Doc suggests a sunny vacation in Aruba. What about Christmas? No problem! The residents of Stinky Cigar agree to fill in for Santa. Stinky Cigar is the town where holiday icons like the Easter Bunny and April Fool rest in between their holiday duties. With good intentions but no organization, chaos insues. The Easter Bunny is painting little fire trucks easter egg pastels. Cupid is making romantic cards for xmas gifts? Of course, Santa comes back just in time to save xmas. He has a lovely tan and is 19 lbs. lighter. All of this is told in rhyme!! I bought 2 copies today. Both the adults and kids will laugh out loud.

My frien loved this book great book for people who deal with children and to show children a variety of names.

This is one of the books that I hope will become a Christmas classic. It combines the excitement of Christmas with the love of books and reading. The pictures by Mr. McPhail are an enticing addition to the story. If you love books and reading you'll love Edward, Santa and the last page of this book.

This book was very interesting. It all started with Edward not being able to read. His father would always read him a story on Christmas Eve. Edward wanted to read really bad. This story tells how Edward goes from being doubted, to actually being able to read. It brings about a conflict with the losing of Santa's glasses. I think that that was the opportunity that Edward needed to learn how to read. His parents woke him up on Christmas morning. They wanted to read the book to him. He ended up reading it to them. I would definitely recommend this to any kid that wants a good story to read.

I cried as I read this book for the first time - it is an endearing story about Edward, who is having difficulty learning to read. His teacher suggests he undergo more "tests", but his parents insist "no...more patience". When Santa delivers gifts to Edward's house on Christmas Eve, it happens that he can't read his book of names of boys and girls. Christmas is at stake and Edward must step up to the plate and read the names for Santa. Edward goes with Santa in his sleigh and saves the day by reading aloud the names in Santa's book. He gains his self-esteem and self-confidence in reading, and saves Christmas too!
This is one of the best Christmas books I have read and I ... hope it becomes a classic. This author has written two other books about Edward, just as charming: "Edward and the Pirates" and "Edward in the Jungle".

Edward cannot read. He almost can...but not quite. His teacher tells his parents that there are many tests he can take that will find what the problems are. However, his mother insists on "No tests...just patience."
It is Christmas Eve and Edward struggles to read his favorite Christmas story when he hears a noise. He runs downstairs to find a large, old book. "It must be Santa's!" he thought.
Santa comes back for the book, which happens to be his "Book of Names," but looses his glasses, and needs Edward to go along with him to help him read the names. Edward struggles at first, but Santa helps him. In the end, Edward does fine reading and Santa returns him home, thanks him, and rewards him with a new book.
On Christmas day, Edward reads his new book to his two happy parents.
I believe that this story is really inspiring. Edward gains self esteem, self confidence, and he saves Christmas! This book seems to be an instant classic. The story is good and the illustrations are beautiful. People of all ages will enjoy reading about Edward's memorable Christmas.