More Christmas Books

Last week's Friday post provided information about four Christmas books that I really like. Here are three more to consider:

Berry, James. Celebration Song. Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, 1994. ISBN: 0671894463. Set in the West Indies, Mary tells Jesus about the day of his birth on his first birthday. The cadences of the text are Caribbean, and the art work captures the feel of a different world. A joyful book that reminds us that the story of Christmas is told and heard in other cultures in ways that can help us hear the familiar story in new ways.

Crespi, Francesca. The Nativity: Six Glorious Pop-Up Scenes. Sterling Publishing, 2005. ISBN: 1402729197. Crespi is known illustrations using elaborate paperwork (and most specifically what we would call popup books) and has a number of them related to Christmas and Advent. Popup books come with some anxiety for most parents, so you’ll have to determine for yourself whether it is one you’d like to purchase. But I’m intrigued by how popups work, and both the art and the text in this book are very, very nice. (Crespi has also done popups on Christmas carols and an advent calendar, but you’ll have a hard time finding them available in used bookshops.)

DiCamilo, Kate. Great Joy. Candlewick Press, 2007. ISBN: 0763629200. Centered around a young girl who will be an angel in her church’s Christmas play, and a homeless organ grinder, this story puts flesh on the announcement that the angels bring tidings of great joy.

Ann