Alison's List of Christmas Favourites

Norma has written so eloquently about our library being the heart of the community, and of our many patrons whom we enjoy coming to visit, not only for library services but also for updates on their lives. We are fortunate to share many things with our patrons!

At this time of year I would like you to note the many seasonal items that the library can offer around the Christmas season. We have books about Christmas cooking and baking, decorating and gift ideas and fiction to help you relax and enjoy the season. My favourite section remains the children’s area where we have over 50 Christmas books to enjoy at this time of year. This section is known as the E section of the library, not E for easy, but E for everybody!

There are some books in our E section that seem more directed to older children and adults.

The House of the Wooden Santas by Kevin Major reads like an advent story, with 24 short “chapters” to the story, each one beautifully illustrated with a carved wooden santa. I liked to read one chapter each night of the advent season.

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon is the retelling of Christmas 1914 when the German and Allied soldiers participated in an unofficial Christmas truce. Again, this book has beautiful Illustrations and has a CD to accompany the story.

Winter’s Gift by Jane Donovan is a delightful story when read aloud and has great appeal to all ages. It takes practice to be able to read it without “tearing up”, but it is a story about a gift of hope.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski is a story of the widow McDowell and her seven year old son Thomas who ask a gruff J Toomey to carve figures for their Christmas crèche. This is a beautiful old fashioned story written by a librarian who was looking for a real Christmas story.

Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant tells the story of a Christmas train coming through the Appalachian Mountains each year with gifts for children. This story comes a full circle when one of the recipients of a gift comes back as an adult to this community. As an adult, I found it tear jerking, in a way that children do not!

I cannot write a blog entry about Christmas books without including my all time favourite, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. This lovely picture book was published in 1985 but is still very popular each year as it has stood the test of time. The expressive language reads like poetry and appeals to me equally as well as the soft illustrations. It is another story that I would describe as a “circle story” and leaves me with the wonder of Christmas. Be sure to have a silver bell on hand if you read it aloud!

Submitted by Alison, Librarian