Move over Beatrix Potter because Little Rabbit is one cute bunny.   I just finished Little Rabbit Goes to School (Peachtree, 2004) and really for me, it’s all about the illustrations.  The story’s cute, yes, but this is a book I’d get for the illustrations. 

The Little Rabbit books tell about typical joys and fears of childhood:  the excitement of a birthday, getting lost at “Rabbit World,” not wanting to share, the desire to be “big.”  Little Rabbit Goes to School begins, “When Little Rabbit woke up, he knew that it was a special day.  Today was his first day of school.” 

But it’s the illustrations that enchant.  Little Rabbit with his thirteen or so siblings in their snug rabbit house at the foot of a giant tree.  And Little Rabbit is pretty much irresistible in his little jumpsuit complete with hat shaped like bunny ears.  He wears them 24/7, and it’s a good thing he does.  Otherwise we’d get him mixed up with all the other bunnies hopping around on these pages.  Just as mischievous and charming as his literary ancestor, Little Rabbit is a 21st century Peter Rabbit, and every bit as winsome.

(And winsome is the perfect word here.  [win-suh m] adj.: sweetly or innocently charming; winning; engaging.)

Ok, just can’t resist doing a few more Christmas books.  These are some unique ones I’m partial to.

Winter Lights: A Season in Poems & Quilts (by Anna Grossnickle Hines.  Greenwillow, 2005).  Stunning contemporary quilts illustrate this book, most of them in intense, vivid colors and bold patterns that really appeal to kids and adults alike.  Like the title says, each poem and quilt celebrates winter light:  sun sparkling on icicles, Christmas lights, aurora borealis, Menorah and Kwanzaa candles, flickering farolitos.  Here’s one of the poems called It’s Time: 

We’ve been working.

We’ve been waiting.

We have been

anticipating.

Make it dark,

as dark can be.

It’s time to light

our Christmas tree!

When I first looked at this book, I thought the illustrations were done by a graphic artist.  Not until I reread the book did I realize that the artwork is quilting!  The back of the book also has three pages where the author/artist explains how she creates her quilts.  I bought this book for my mom (an amazing appliqué quilter).  Not only does this book have fun poems (my favorite is Lights Out, a poem about reading under the covers with a flashlight), it helps readers appreciate quilting as an art form.  Winter Lights is a great multicultural book with poems about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, St. Lucia Day, Chinese New Year, Spanish Christmas traditions, as well as the winter season. 

little tree (by e.e. cummings, ill. by Mary Claire Smith.  Element Children’s Books, 1999).  i’ve always adored the poet e.e. cummings.  perhaps it’s his brash disregard of caps (something i’m partial to when emailing).  perhaps it’s his unique way of using space and type, or his adjectives—perfect, beautiful, and so quite new.  and little tree is typical, lovely e.e. cummings:   “little

tree . . . i will kiss your cool bark/ and hug you safe and tight/ just as your mother would . . . put up your little arms . . . every finger shall have its ring/ and there won’t be a single place dark or unhappy.”  And so a boy and his sister decorate their Christmas tree.  I can’t think of a lovelier way to introduce a child (or grownup) to one of the great American poets.

Silent Night, Holy Night:  The Story of the Christmas Truce (narrated by Walter Kronkite, ill. by Robert T. Barrett.  Shadow Mountain, 2003).  This picture book developed from a story Walter Kronkite narrated at a Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert.  The book tells the true story of the remarkable Christmas truce of December 1914.  In the midst of the horrors of World War I, soldiers on either side of Flanders Field put down their arms, crossed enemy lines, and joined in a spirit of brotherhood as they buried their dead, exchanged small gifts, sang songs, and prayed together at Christmastime.  “As the Christmas of 1914 drew to a close . . .  a lone voice floated across the few yards of earth on which they had stood together.”  “Silent night, holy night . . .”  One by one the soldiers joined voices to sing this last Christmas carol.  The picture book includes a CD with Kronkite’s narration and the Mormon Tabernacle choir singing Silent Night.

The Miracle of the First Poinsettia: A Mexican Christmas Story (by Joanne Oppenheim, ill. by Fabian Negrin.  Barefoot Books, 2003).  Ever since I lived in the Southwest, I’ve loved books that celebrate Hispanic culture.  The Miracle of the First Poinsettia, along with Tomie dePaola’s The Night of Las Posadas, are favorites.  The Miracle of the First Poinsettia tells of la Noche Buena, Christmas Eve, when little Juanita dreams of buying gifts for her family and to place on the church altar for Baby Jesus.  Impossible.  Papá has lost his job, and there are no pesos for piñatas or fiestas.  Juanita cries outside the old church as mariachis sing lullabies to Baby Jesus.  But then a Christmas miracle!  As Juanita carries a bouquet of straggly, green weeds into the church to place on the altar, they miraculously transform into beautiful, red flowers.  “Qué hermosa!  How beautiful,” say the people.   “Feliz Navidad, niño chiquito, Jesusito,” whispers Juanita.  And of course, these “flor de la Noche Buena” are the poinsettias we use today at Christmastime.  Besides the bonus of Spanish vocabulary words, this folktale retelling glows with gorgeous illustrations. 

B is for Bethlehem: A Christmas Alphabet (by Isabel Wilner, ill. by Elisa Kleven.  Puffin Books, 1990).  “C is for Crowds, growing larger each day/ With more people, more animals filling the way.”  The artwork for this picture book is mixed-media collage and, as one review points out, has a “vibrant, folkloric look.”  The artwork reminds me of pointillism with all its dots.  This alphabet book adds nice variety to a Christmas book collection, and author Isabel Wilner even finds a Christmas word for the letter X! 

So for Christmas 2008 . . .  

Let me exclaim, the list grows out of sight 

Merry Christmas to all as you read through the night!

Any other Christmas books you can’t live without?  Post a comment!

One of our favorite Christmas traditions (and my favorite one—fun AND easy) is our basket of Christmas picture books.  A giant basket loaded with Christmas picture books sits right next to the tree.  The books get packed away with the ornaments and decorations and only come out at Christmas.  And they only come out after the kids have decorated the tree.  Otherwise, they drop everything and plop down on the couches to read (I learned that the hard way this year).

We have thirty or so Christmas books and add a new one each year.  By the way, you can always buy inexpensive Christmas books from the kiddos’ school book order.  If you don’t have an elementary school-age kid, borrow one.

My kids each have one or two books that they love the most and that they pull out first each and every year.   Here are a few of their favorites.  And remember, “a book is a present you can open again and again!”

Follow the Star (retold by Allia Zobel-Nolen, ill. Tracey Moroney.  Christmas Bible Playbooks, 1999).  This is a small board book (about 5×5 inches) with pages shaped like buildings in Bethlehem.  The short, simple text tells of the wise men’s search for baby Jesus:  “Three wise men saw a star God put in the sky.  They knew a great king was born.  ‘Let us go and bring him gifts,’ they said.  When they got to Jerusalem, they asked, ‘Has anyone seen the new baby king?’”  This story works great for toddlers and preschoolers with short attention spans.  The unusual shape of the book always seems to grab kiddos’ attention too—so much more fun than a plain old square or rectangle. 

Olivia Helps with Christmas (by Ian Falconer.  Simon & Schuster, 2007).  Olivia is the poster pig for “engaging character,” and Falconer does more with black, white, and red (with some green tossed in for Christmas) than should be allowed.  Seriously, he’s amazing.  Olivia captures all the excitement and suspense of Christmas:  Will Christmas ever get here?  Let me help!  SNOW!  PRESENTS!  STOCKINGS!  Olivia helps mom set the table by finding a “perfect little tree” (she cuts off the top of the Christmas tree).  Olivia saves Santa from an untimely death.  As dad gets ready to build a fire in the fireplace, Olivia cries, “DADDY!  What could you be thinking?  Do you want to cook Santa?!”  Olivia both charms and exasperates–hmmm, reminds me of  . . .  I won’t mention any names. 

The Christmas Blizzard (by Helen Ketteman, ill. James Warhola.  Scholastic, 1995).  One day old geezer Maynard Jenkins walks in to McNab’s General Store, and little Sissy McNab shouts “we’re going to get a blizzard tonight!”  Well, that old Maynard knows a thing or two about blizzards.   When he was a boy, one year “it was so cold that when my pappy dropped his sledgehammer, it shattered like glass.”  The year’s crazy weather also made the North Pole “as warm as grandma’s gravy.”  Santa packed up and moved right to Maynard’s town.  Trouble is, heaps of cold but no heaps of snow!! Had to have snow or there’d be no Christmas!  Even bigger trouble brews when clouds arrive but “froze solid” and “crashed right to the ground.”  Luckily, Maynard thinks quick and soon there are “Flakes as big as dinner plates.  Flakes as fat as turnips.  Flakes rounder than a Thanksgiving turkey.  Flakes fluffier than a long-haired barn cat.”

A Small Miracle (by Peter Collington.  Alfred A. Knopf, 1997).  A wonderful wordless storybook with a beautiful message of giving.  A poor peasant woman wakes and looks in her oven.  No fire.  No bread in her breadbox.  Bare cupboards.  No money.  She straps on her accordion, trudges through the snow to town, and plays all day in the cold, hoping for a coin.  Busy Christmas shoppers pass her buy, but none stop to drop money in the old woman’s little box.  Desperate, she pawns her accordion, only to have the money stolen.  Entering the cathedral, she discovers the thief stealing from the church.  The poor, old woman saves the collection money and gently rearranges the trampled nativity.   Weak from cold and hunger, she turns toward home but falls unconscious in the snow.   But then the miracle–the nativity characters come to life.  Wise men take their treasures, retrieve her accordion and buy her food.  Joseph the carpenter repairs her little wheeled shack.   Mother Mary watches over her as she sleeps.  And on and on.  Her gift to God is repayed a hundred fold.

More (or is that Moore?) favorite Christmas books to come!

What is a favorite Christmas book of yours?