A Long Walk to Water

I read this book in one evening about two weeks before Christmas when I needed a break from the craziness. Short, at little more than 100 pages, it could be a good book for a reluctant reader. Although it isn't a long book, it is packed with action, and every chapter has another major event.

The book follows 2 parallel stories, both in Sudan, one in 2008, the other beginning in 1985, and is based on true events. Both of the main characters are inspiring and resilient in their respective walks. This book could certainly bring some much needed perspective to today's youth.

Both stories are incredibly difficult, although one is definitely fraught with more anguish, hardship, and death than the other. The end is redeeming and ties the stories together nicely leaving an inspiring taste in one's mouth. Although I highly recommend this book for middle-to-high school aged children, I probably wouldn't recommend this for the under-12 set unless you have a particularly mature child. The action can be intense and difficult at times.

favorite Christmas books

Last week I shared several of our favorite Nativity books, and this week, I thought I'd share several of our favorite more general Christmas books. Most of these have felt the love in our house for many years and still stand the test of time (and older children).

Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury is Finn's very favorite book from our Christmas book basket. He loves several of these stories and we read them over and over every year. This book also include a few of her more general winter stories, so we leave this book out through the whole winter. Of the Christmas stories, Christmas Trolls and The Wild Christmas Reindeer are his favorites. I did an entire post on this book a few years ago, if you'd like to read more about it.

Of course, what Christmas book basket would be complete without dear old Charlie Brown. We acquired this version of the Charlie Brown Christmas story at Kohl's several years ago, although a quick search on Amazon shows there are many to choose from.

One Snowy Night is one of the few remaining board books in our house. I asked Finn this year if he was ready to part with it. NO! With a hedgehog, which we love, and cold winter's days, a snuggly warm hat, and very sweet gift-giving among friends, this remains a well-loved Christmas book.

Great Joy, by Kate DiCamillo, one of my favorite authors, is a tender-hearted tale of a girl discovering the true meaning of Christmas. It does have Nativity references, but the story is one of love, peace, and goodwill toward men, which is why I included it here. Bagram Ibatoulline, who also illustrated DiCamillo's Edward Tulane, does a fantastic job with the illustrations here as well.

The Tomtes' Christmas Porridge has only been in our collection for a couple of years. My kids love stories about elves, tomtes, gnomes, and other such creatures. This story, about the traditional Christmas porridge that tomtes are supposed to receive for helping on the farm, doesn't fail to delight. Sven Nordqvist has great attention to detail in his illustration, which my kids love to ponder and search.

Findus at Christmas, from Nordqvist's more popular Findus and Pettson series, is another favorite here. The story flows so smoothly from the mishap at the beginning, to the hijinks that ensue, to the ending full of neighborly love and Christmas spirit. As always, we laugh raucously at the detailed and hilarious illustrations.

And last, but certainly not least, Christmas in Noisy Village. If I had to pick one favorite book of Finn's childhood so far, that all of the kids have enjoyed at some point, it would be Children of Noisy Village. A chapter book of a group of children in Sweden is sweet, but not saccharin, and simple, but not dull. Christmas in Noisy Village is essentially an illustrated book of the Christmas section from Children of Noisy Village. I wrote more about all of the Noisy Village books here.

What are your favorite Christmas books?

favorite Nativity books

Our Christmas book basket has grown quite full over the years, and I am often asked for recommendations for good Christmas books. I thought I might resurrect this blog starting with a series of Christmas book posts. To begin, I have a list of our favorite Nativity books.

Room for a Little One has been a favorite for several years. I love the soft illustrations and the gentle interaction between the animals; animals that generally do not behave kindly toward one another. The pinnacle in which the animals are able to witness the birth of Christ is quite sweet.

The Christmas Bird is a newer (to us) favorite. Although out of print, you can find plenty of used copies for a reasonable price. Bernadette Watts has been a favorite illustrator of mine for years, and she does not disappoint in this book. The story of Katya taking her favorite toy, a wooden bird whistle, to the baby King, makes it easy for children to identify with Katya and understand her frustration when the predictable mishaps appear along the journey.

Margaret Wise Brown's Christmas In the Barn is more suited to the younger set. My own children have largely outgrown it. I include it here because the story is sweet, the text simple, and the illustrations plenteous, perfect for keeping the attention of toddlers and preschoolers.

The Christmas Star is probably Finn's favorite in the stack. The silver and gold foil pictures appearing on every page definitely captures a child's attention. The watercolor illustrations are quite lovely as well. This book appears to only be available in board book right now, but numerous used copies of the hardback are available.

The next 2 in the stack are favorites purely on their artistic merit. Both use the Scriptures as their text. I can't say that any of my children would choose them if I asked them to pick a Nativity book from the stack. The stained glass illustrations in Bethlehem are exquisite. And the Scripture chosen to accompany each one is perfect.

Juan Wijngaard's The Nativity, also narrated with Scripture, reminds me of the Russian and Greek icons I bought in Rome many years ago. Each illustration a work of art in its own right, I've found it to be the perfect read for Christmas Eve.

Lastly, a favorite of nearly all my children at varying times is Away in a Manger. The all seemed to connect to the illustration of a beloved Christmas carol. I have to sing my way through this book, of course, instead of reading it. In the evening, around the Christmas tree, it creates a lovely end to the day.

The Jazz Fly

Our household was first introduced to The Jazz Fly shortly after Elizabeth started kindergarten 6 years ago.  She came home raving about a book that her teacher had been reading.  We found the title and she begged that we buy it because she really wanted her brothers to hear the scat-singing fly.

I found this book to be a bit of a challenge to read aloud initially, so fortunately the book comes with a cd to help you navigate all of the "ZA-baza, BOO-zaba, ZEE-zah RO-ni" and other phrases.  Once you practice a few times, the book is really a joy to read aloud.  

I really appreciate the introduction to jazz music and rhythm here.  The fly's scat singing, as well as the pictures of the Jazz Bugs and their snazzy outfits, really makes for a lovely inauguration into jazz for little ones.

City of Ember

I'm finally getting around to posting a few back-logged posts here on The Book Children.  I hope to have a few more posts out, including some collections over the next week or two.  Stay tuned!

The City of Ember is a book that Elizabeth first heard in 4th grade (2 years ago) when her teacher read this first book aloud to the class.  Elizabeth was immediately taken with this book and read the sequel in quick succession. She then started begging Philip to read them as well.  He enjoyed the books as well, although he didn't rave about them quite the way she did.  Here is his synopsis of The City of Ember:

A boy and a girl live in a town that is running out of supplies, and they don't know where to get more. One day the girl finds instructions for something. She finds out that the instructions are the way to get out of Ember. The boys finds a door. He wants to know what's in the door. One day they hear someone going in and out of the door, and they find out that it's not really the door to get out of Ember. They find a door full of boats and they travel down the river to a new place. I kind of liked this book because it had a little girl that was cute, named Poppy. And I like that the end of each chapter is suspenseful.

Animalia

When Finn was gifted Animalia for his birthday a few years ago, I was not familiar with Barbara Berger's work. I soon became familiar because I was so impressed with this collection of animal stories with breathtaking simple, yet complex, illustrations.

Each story is pulled from the legend of a saint or from a traditional Chinese or Buddist tale. The stories are short enough for the attention span of young children without sacrificing the authenticity of the tales. Perfect for sharing when you want your children to have a love of good fables without the silliness or watered down stories found in so many children's books today.


Then there is the stunning artwork. And you know what a sucker I am for beautiful artwork in children's books!

Scholastic's First Discovery books

I don't remember where or when I first stumbled across this little ladybug book, but I'm guessing Elizabeth was 3-4 years old. She was immediately taken with the occasional clear pages that would hide then reveal the underside of a ladybug or show you the inside of a ladybug pupa. Once she tired of the book, Philip discovered it, then eventually Finn.

Somewhere along the way, another of these books entered our home, this one about castles. Now you weren't just looking at the impressive, imposing exterior of the castle, but you could see inside to the various rooms and people working various jobs inside.


I stumbled on 2-3 more of these books at our local used bookstore and always snatched them up when I found them so when our amazing next door neighbor carried over a whole stack that used to be loved by her, now mostly grown, children. Finn was so thrilled and he has read little else, or requested little else read to him, since this stack of exploration and learning arrived.


I think he convinced Paulie to read 5 in a row on Saturday morning before they even ate breakfast and I'm sure I saw Philip snuggled in his bed on Sunday morning while he begged for "just one more" before they came downstairs for the day. His favorite of the new stack, I think, is the penguin book with the sweet little birds walking on ice floes and diving into the water.


In keeping with the beauty of these books, he also gets to see the penguins swimming in the Antarctic and the bottom of the glacier.


Not only can he see underwater in the Antarctic, but the inside of a chicken, bees and butterflies pollinating flowers, the rainforest floor, and the various holes, tunnels, animals and bugs found under the ground.

What an amazing and attention-capturing way to present information to little ones!

PS. Some of these books are still in print, but many are not. However, you can find lots of used ones on Amazon and probably your local used bookstore.