A Christmas Carol

We all know the story. It is so familiar and far too often overdone. (Images of the version acted out by The Muppets come to mind.) Ebenezer Scrooge is an old miser with no heart who is forcing his employee to work on Christmas. Later the same night, Scrooge is visited by a series of ghosts. The first ghost takes Scrooge back to his past, to see how much he once enjoyed life. The second ghost shows Scrooge how horrible he is currently acting. The final ghost shows Scrooge the inevitable outcome of his actions. The families and characters portrayed in the book are sure to tug at your heartstrings time and time again.

A Christmas Carol is just as relevant today as it was when it was originally written. In these times of recession and economic hardship, many families are experiencing the same hardships as the families illustrated in the book. With a little bit of hope and generosity, this season can be made happy for those on all parts of the spectrum.

The lessons learned in this classic are often lost or forgotten. It truly reminds all readers that no matter how old you are, or what current state your life is in, it is possible to change for the better. Ebenezer Scrooge had the help of spirits, but the readers have the help of Charles Dickens’ classic story. A re-read of A Christmas Carol will surely get you in the holiday spirit, and will remind all readers of the important lesson it teaches. Be kind not only this holiday season, but as Scrooge learned, all year round.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens tends to be the first pick when it comes to Christmas reading sessions. However, I remember that my cousins and I were quite thrilled when the uncle read How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss one year. After all, what can you say of the Grinch, a sourpuss whose heart is “2 sizes too small,” who isolates himself on Mt. Crumpit away from the rest of Whoville, and who steals the entire town’s Christmas decorations, Who-ham, and presents to “prevent Christmas from coming” and keep everything nice and quiet for himself?

Those of us who are weary of the commercial trappings of Christmas would appreciate the finer nuances of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! while every child to whom I’ve seen the story read celebrates at how the Grinch eventually “gets” Christmas.

When I watched the film, which seemed familiar to me, I had no idea that The Polar Express was based on the Caldecott Medal-winning book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg in 1985. Eventually, I remembered that my uncle had also read this book, in which a young boy travels with other children to the North Pole on the eponymous train, and which placed great emphasis on the magic of Christmas and belief, at one of our family Christmas gatherings.

As the story progressed, my uncle would turn the book around so that we could see the moody, muted illustrations that punctuated the 32 pages. In contrast to the film, the illustrations in The Polar Express were reminiscent of a time long-gone, and are not as stark as the images of Christmas you find nowadays.

We don’t have Christmas reading sessions anymore, but I still make it a point to read such books at Christmastime. All together now: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house/Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…”

• What I Hate – Forget the A to Z books of the past, which were filled with animals and other friendly images. Roz Chast has put together an A to Z book with a much better subject: epic horrors and daily unpleasantries. You’ll be entertained by cartoon illustrations and appropriate supplemental text for every letter from A to Z.  Chast will help you develop a very necessary fear of abductions, rabies, tunnels, and much more.
• I Am Better Than Your Kids – If you don’t deal well with mean sarcasm, then you should stay away from this book. You will not be able to resist the urge to send this man hate mail. George Ouzounian, who goes by the pen name Maddox, spares no expense in letting you to know that your child’s poor attempts at art and the third-grade book reports you’ve saved belong in one place: the trash. You might be surprised by the hold this book can have on you. Readers love to hate Maddox.
• The Onion Presents: Christmas Exposed – The Onion Staff, a parody news organization, is always able to generate a good laugh. This Christmas, The Onion Staff brings us shocking tales of secret Santas and other wintery topics (such as the unavoidable dysfunctional family dinner), which prove to be quite illuminating (or at the very least, hilarious).
• Goodnight iPad – Goodbye moon, hello iPad. Ann Droyd‘s parody of Margaret Wise Brown‘s Goodnight Moon pokes fun at our plugged-in lives. No more do we say goodnight to our room or the cow jumping over the moon. No more do we say goodnight to our light or a red balloon. Today, we say goodnight to all of our gadgetry.
• Bossypants – Can you really go wrong with Tina Fey‘s autobiography? This book contains silly anecdotes that will draw laughter from you on every page. As a bonus, you will learn how Fey ended up on SNL and how she created 30 Rock.

A reader might equally enjoy some less recent, but equally humorous hits, such as George Carlin‘s Brain Droppings, which was published in 1997. I picked Brain Droppings up off of my neighbor’s shelf after Thanksgiving dinner and couldn’t put it down. I literally ended up taking it back home with me. Good humor never gets old.

Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom

The cover picture shows one of the more unique friendships of a dove and monkey embracing. What is remarkable is that the dove stays put while the monkey lays down its head down in a form of embrace. It is a pairing that is quite unexpected in the animal kingdom.

Among other stories are those of motherless babies — like a leopard finding comfort by sleeping with a calf. These stories show motherhood can triumph over the instinctive nature of two animals that would normally be enemies.

It is a cute book for kids and would make a very good gift for kids who love animals. The animals are quite cute. The stories that go along with them are very inspiring. Young kids will appreciate the pictures even if they can’t read the stories that accompany them.

Any animal lover will like this unique insight into nature. The color pictures are appealing portraits of  moments in the animals’ friendships.

It is a fairly quick read since the stories themselves aren’t that long. You will spend more time looking at the pictures than reading the actual stories. But they are a good accompaniment to the photographs and explain how the relationships came to be.

This is a very good gift book for friends and family. They will love the sentiment behind the friendships of the animals and perhaps learn a few things that they didn’t know.

While there are the expected cat and dog friendships that have been seen before, there are a few surprises in store for the readers. Look for discounts when buying this book.

I realize The Magical Christmas Horse is supposed to be for children aged 4–8 years (although there seems to be a lot of text for 4-year-olds to pore over), but there’s nothing stopping those who are young at heart from enjoying it too. If anything, the book might give my aunt ideas for her next cake or batch of decorated cookies!

The Magical Christmas Horse tells the tale of how young Johnny’s wish of having the entire family together at his grandparents’ Connecticut home for Christmas comes true. Unfortunately, that happiness threatens to be dampened by the rundown state of the wooden horse he has promised to gift to his younger brother Liam. Nevertheless, Johnny finds the horse and the race against time begins for his father and grandfather to restore the horse to its former glory.

Except for the titular horse, it’s strange how everything at Johnny’s grandparents’ home looks the same as it did so many years ago. Odder still, the horse, which is supposed to have been in the family for generations, was lent to a neighbor one Christmas long ago and wasn’t returned.

The more I think about it, the weirder it sounds. Why neglect something that’s been in your family for so long? On the other hand, the horse isn’t the first-ever heirloom to be shoddily treated. In any case, I will continue to marvel over Wendell Minor’s illustrations, which were what drew me to the book in the first place. They take me back to my Enid Blyton days, for some reason, and make me pine for Christmases I never experienced.

Granted, the writing, of which there is a lot, is protracted, and Johnny seems to be cut from an entirely different and unreal cloth compared to other older brothers. Even so, The Magical Christmas Horse deserves a place on the bookshelf by virtue of its enchanting illustrations and the sense of nostalgia it evokes (in me, at any rate).

• A Christmas Carol- Dickens wrote a number of Christmas-themed stories; this is by far the most popular. Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old man who is visited by three ghosts: The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Each ghost shows Scrooge how his miserly behavior has affected others. Will this change him?
• The Adventures of Oliver Twist - Oliver Twist is the orphan who asked for more. He has a miserable existence in a workhouse. When he is placed with an undertaker, he escapes and goes to London, where he meets the Artful Dodger, the leader of a gang of kids who make their living by pickpocketing. The Artful Dodger brings Oliver to their base, where he meets Fagin, an elderly man who has been training the kids. Oliver does not realize what living with this gang would entail; he thinks they simply make handkerchiefs and wallets. What will become of him when they take him along to commit their daily crimes?
• Great Expectations- This story is told from the point of view of an orphan named Pip. Pip meets a girl named Estella who treats him coldly. Miss Havisham has raised her to break men’s hearts, as revenge for the pain her own broken heart caused her. Pip indeed falls for Estella and vows to make a fortune so he can come back and win over Estella. What will be the outcome?

Answer: A Christmas Carol. Tiny Tim is a little boy in the visions that Scrooge sees. Some know him as the character who says, “God bless us, every one!”

Other popular novels written by Dickens include A Tale of Two Cities, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, Barnaby Rudge, and The Pickwick Papers.

The story is set in the 1930s and based on Capote’s childhood memories. The boy and his friend are really distant cousins who live in the same household. “Other people inhabit the house, relatives; and though they have power over us, and frequently make us cry, we are not, on the whole, too much aware of them.” The woman, the boy explains, “is still a child.”  Her mental disability (or maybe autism?) makes her more like him than like other adults.

They both love Christmas, and for them the season begins early in November with “fruitcake weather”. With their carefully saved money, plus lots of hard work and patience, they bake over 30 fruitcakes for their friends — “persons we’ve met maybe once, perhaps not at all,” like President Roosevelt and faraway missionaries.

The two also take charge of decorating the house for Christmas, which leads them deep into the woods around their small Southern town, searching for holly and a tree.

The woman is scolded for giving the boy a drink of the whisky they use in their fruitcakes (“Which one of you is a drinkin’ man?” jokes the bootlegger they buy it from). The boy begs her not to cry over this, saying she’s too old. She says she is too old — and “too funny.”

“Not funny. Fun,” he says. “More fun than anybody.” These two people, considered insignificant by the rest of the world, are infinitely precious to each other. Of course, their little world can’t last forever, but the love between them, which is what really makes their Christmases special, does.

First published in 1956, A Christmas Memory is a timeless story.

The Amazing Menorah of Mazeltown by Hal Dresner & Joy Fate

Mazeltown, in the Cry-Me-a-River valley, is a dreary village on the dark, cold days leading up to Hanukkah.  But everything changes when Molly and Max stumble upon an old and grimy menorah in their father’s junkshop.  After a quick polish Mazeltown starts to experience some strange goings on.  Night by night, the magic of the menorah is brightening the streets, whitening the sheets, lofting the bagels, making the river glow with life and lighting up everyone’s heart.

A Christmas Bear for Me by Jennifer Dewing

This is a beautiful, heart-warming, personalized story about a child’s Christmas wish for a special Teddy Bear friend. Each copy of the book comes with an adorable plush Gund® bear with the child’s name on the tag and a personalized letter to the child from Santa.  Written by Jennifer Dewing and illustrated by the nationally renowned artist Wilson Ong, A Christmas Bear for Me follows the child’s journey from longing and wishing to the magic of Christmas morning, when the child finds his or her special bear along with a personalized note from Santa under the tree.

A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas by Ralph Covert & G. Riley Mills

This is no ordinary Nutcracker! This time, it’s Fritz’s story. The traditional Nutcracker tale gets turned on its head in this rollicking Christmas adventure, based on the hit musical A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas by the popular family music rock star Ralph Covert and playwright G. Riley Mills. Includes a bonus CD of songs from the musical, featuring a read-aloud track with the music and story woven together.

Tinycandy’s Gift by Susan Estes

This book is a Christmas story of an elf named Tinycandy who is a little different from the other elves because he walks with a cane. Tinycandy is desperate to find his special “gift” in order to contribute to Christmas in Santa’s workshop and become accepted by the other elves. Tinycandy soon discovers that his gift is making special candies shaped like hooks that make Christmas a little sweeter for everyone. Impressed by Tinycandy’s new talent, Santa christens the special treats “Candy Canes.” Estes creates a unique history of how the candy cane got its name and weaves in a classic tale that conveys to children one of the pivotal rules of life.

William and the Christmas Moon by Laura Robinson

William stays up late to watch for Santa Claus.  While staring into the landscape he takes a visual journey through the moonlit surrounds where he and his grandfather spend their days exploring.  He then falls asleep, dreaming of a flight in his own grandfather’s sleigh, where “wrapped in sheets of soft moonlight, William glimpsed his gifts that night.”  William’s description of these gifts – his newfound appreciation of the moonlight and their time spent in the stark winter landscapes –in turn become his grandfather’s most treasured Christmas gift.  This book is a shadow-casting bedtime story, which transforms a child’s bedroom into a magical shadow theater. A special flashlight illuminates the text for the reader, while projecting large shadows of the intricate laser-cut illustrations onto the wall.

The Winter Solstice by Ellen Jackson

This book tells about the origins of winter holidays and celebrations all over the world, with an emphasis on Christmas. It ends with a beautiful Cherokee legend about the origin of the evergreen. It received  the Children’s Choice Selection award, given by the International Reading Association. It is a definite child favorite, as books are chosen for this award through children’s voting.

Are you looking for books about Christmas to get you in the spirit of this festive holiday?

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Everybody knows the story of A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley, one Christmas Eve. He warns Scrooge that he will never be happy as long as he stuck to his greedy ways and that he will be visited by three ghosts. Just as predicted, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, who took him to his happy childhood, followed by the Ghost of Christmas Present, to the homes of his nephew and employee, and the Ghost of Christmas Future, who showed him a grim and unforgiving future. It is enough to scare Scrooge, and he becomes a different man, a kind, generous and compassionate man who embodies the spirit of Christmas.

2. The Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg

A little boy waits for the sounds of Santa’s sleigh one Christmas Eve, but instead, he hears the sound of a train coming. He goes out of the house, and the train’s conductor invites him for a ride on The Polar Express. Inside, he finds other children, in their pajamas, drinking hot chocolate. The train reaches the North Pole, and they discover all the elves gathered in a circle waiting for Santa Claus to start his Christmas journey. Before Santa leaves, he picks the boy to receive the first Christmas gift. He chooses the silver bell on Santa’s sleigh. Santa gives it to him, and he is devastated when, upon coming home that night, he loses the bell. The next day he wakes up, and his sister finds a small gift box for him. He opens it and discovers the bell inside. This bell will remind him to believe in the spirit of Christmas, even when others don’t.

3. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

The Life And Adventures of Santa Claus is a fantasy story imagining the life of Santa Claus from the time he was a kid until the “present time”. As a baby, he was found in the Forest of Burzee by Ak, Master Woodsman of the World, and raised by fairies, wood nymphs, gnomes and knooks. When he becomes an adult, Ak tells him he cannot stay in Burzee anymore and has to live amongst the mortals, since he is also a mortal. He resides in the Laughing Valley of Hohaho, where the immortals still get to visit him. In Hohaho, he became known as a man who always is kind to children. He starts making toys and giving them to the children in the village. But a group of evil beings called the Awgwas start to wreak havoc on the children. Santa begins to travel by night and deliver the toys through the chimney. Ak declares war on the Awgwas and wipes them out. Santa continues to deliver the toys to children peacefully. But when Santa turns 60, the disadvantages of his mortality begin to show, as he is nearing the end of his life. That’s when Ak and the other Immortal Kings decide to bless him with immortality so he can continue his acts of kindness.

Tune in for more books on Christmas!