Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve

Minverva Louise on Christmas Eve
By: Janet Morgan Stoeke

If you have not yet met Minerva Louise, I highly encourage you to do so soon. She is great! Minerva Louise is a pleasant, sweet, slightly dull, and very funny chicken who lives on a farm of course. She is always mistaking one thing for another, inspiring giggles along the way. In Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve this silly chicken just can't understand the farmer in the red hat. She tells him plainly to watch out or he will fall, but to no avail --he slips down the chimney! She decides to follow him and is amazed that there is a new tree inside the house, which must have gotten cold, and the white hen with wings on top must be the one who laid the beautiful colored eggs that adorn it! Minerva Louise has had about enough when she sees the farmer in the red hat putting his stuff in her people's socks, but in the end she is happy to get her own present, and enjoys it just as a sweet and silly chicken should.

Also try: Minerva Louise and the Red Truck or A Friend for Minerva Louise!

Bah! Humbug!

Bah! Humbug?
by Lorna and Lecia Balian

Has your older sibling ever tried to ruin your fun? If you have an older sibling --I would imagine so! The rotten older brother in Bah! Humbug? is set on proving to his faithful little sister that there is indeed NO Santa Claus. Of course that's not true, and Santa has a magical way of steering clear of all the very creative traps this brother has set. In this book there are moments where a picture is worth a thousand words!

I love this book as much as I love Humbug Witch! Author Lorna Balian knows how to make my kids and me smile. Before this book was back in print (with what look to be improved illustrations by Lecia) my mom went to great lengths to find a used copy for me, which I treasure. I hope you get a chance to read this story sometime, especially if you can do so with a child.

More Christmas books I'd like to read, or the woes of not having a large book store nearby:

A Pirate's Night Before Christmas

A New Improved Santa

The Night Before Christmas: Tenth Anniversary Edition

Claude the Dog: A Christmas Story

Drummer Boy
Mary Engelbreit's The Night Before Christmas
Has anybody read these? Loved them?

Peter Spier's Christmas

When I was a child my mother started a holiday tradition of giving each of her children a Christmas book. When I moved from home I had quite a collection, and thanks to my mom, it's still growing. One of the first books I received as a part of this tradition was Peter Spier's Christmas. It's still one of my favorites. I always love Peter Spier's books, and this one is no exception. This book is wordless, but don't worry --there is plenty to talk about! The pictures tell their own story and there are also plenty of details in the illustrations. This is a book you can look at for a long time with your child, but your children might end up doing that on their own!

Unfortunately this book appears to be out of print. It shouldn't be! Perhaps your library will still hold a copy.

A couple Christmas favorites my children enjoy that are still available are: Dream Snowby Eric Carle, and Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson. I would love to hear about your favorite Christmas books! Enjoy the season!

Humbug Witch

This has to be the most charming witch you have ever met! However, she can't seem to get her spells to work right. She tries all kinds of peanut butter- ketchup potions, and casting-the-cat-away spells to no avail. This adorable witchy-witch then gives up for bedtime, and it becomes a little more clear what's in the way of her magic. The first time you read Humbug Witch, you and your child will enjoy the surprise, but you will not tire of reading it over and over. Don't miss this one! In my mind, this is a book that just happens to be extra fun to read around Halloween, but it's also a classic I wouldn't want to be without.

Hoodwinked

Hoodwinked, written and illustrated by Arthur Howard, is full of kid appeal. The story features Mitzi, a small red-haired witch, who likes everything to be creepy. She prefers creepy breakfast cereal, creepy slippers, creepy relatives, and now she is searching for a really creepy pet. The lady at the creepy pet store, (who has long blue teeth!) tries several times to please Mitzi, but some pets are too buggy, some are too batty, and some Mitzi decides just need some thinking over. What to do? Mitzi's new pet practically comes knocking on her front door, but is it creepy enough?

Mitzi reminds me an awful lot of my children, who only think they like all things creepy. This creepy-loving, small and freckled, red-headed witch is anything but creepy, which makes the illustrations perfect for young children. My three year old daughter really enjoys this book, but even as uncreepy as it really is, for younger kids it's best read in the daylight, because according to my daughter, nightlight shadows have a tendency to become a little creepy otherwise.

Too Many Pumpkins

Isn't there just something magical about pumpkins? All kids seem to love them. Even more so, there is something magical about Too Many Pumpkins: filling the porch, the lawn, and kitchen. This story gives you and your child your fill of pumpkins, and all the magical things that go with them. The pictures in this book, by Megan Lloyd, are wonderfully detailed and perfect for entertaining old and young eyes both.

The cute old gardener Rebecca Estelle remembers a time where they had nothing to eat but pumkins for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and so she never wants to see a pumpkin again. But somehow a stubborn pumpkin plant, originating from a smashed pumpkin, grows despite neglect, and Rebecca Estelle meets her match of pumpkins. She manages to use up the pumpkins she thought she detested, to the delight of the town.

I love the fact that this story is based on a true experience by author Linda White's grandmother, who lived during the great depression, and really did eat pumpkins for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. An enjoyable book my kids and I haven't tired of yet-- and although we read it anytime, it's perfect for October!