Ten Great Christmas Books for Children

1.
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree
A perennial favorite at my house as Mr. Willowby's giant tree that "came by special delivery" keeps gets a trim at the top so that every creature around gets to share in the Christmas joy. Written in rhyme with cute illustrations.





2.
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
This is a tale of the horrible Herdman family, a rowdy bunch of neglected children who get tired of juvenile delinquency and decide to participate in the local Christmas Pageant. Told from another child's judgmental point of view, the narrator and the reader move from impatience to pity to awe as the Herdman family gives their own spin on the Biblical story. Boys and girls alike will get the message - Baby Jesus was an outcast, too.




3.
I Spy Christmas: A Book of Picture Riddles
With fantasic illustrations of snowy nights and heaps of toys, this is the book equivalent of having your nose pressed against a winter window. Fun for the whole family, and one you will turn to year after year.






4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas: A 50th Anniversary Retrospective
Except for the music, this is the exact same story as the famous television special, so parents often learn to recite it from memory. And like most Dr. Seuss classics, it never gets old and always seems fresh.






5.
The Polar Express
A gorgeous picture book, this is a truly unique spin on what happens at the North Pole on Christmas Eve. More text than a usual picture book, but quite fascinating.





6.
This Is the Stable
A simple rhyming tale of the animals in the stable where Jesus was born with realistic illustrations. Sweet and easy for small children.







7.
The Night Before Christmas
The classic Clement C. Moore poem without the edits that some modern readers prefer - yes, Santa smokes a pipe in this one.






8.
Morris' Disappearing Bag
Rosemary Wells is known for her "Max and Ruby" series, and while this book predates those by almost 20 years, the magic is the same. Morris is the youngest of four bunnies and jealous as his siblings play with their fantastic gifts. Then he crawls inside a "disappearing bag" under the Christmas tree and becomes special in his own way. 




9.
The Story of Holly and Ivy
An old-fashioned sweet story of a doll who needs a home and a lonely girl who needs a doll, written by the great Rumer Godden ("The Doll's House")  and illustrated by Barbara Cooney ("Roxaboxen). A good book to read aloud to a class or over several nights at home. Also great for middle readers - girls mainly.





10.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) (Little Golden Book)
This book really needs no introduction. Rudolph is the misfit from the old song, but his unfortunate nose turns out to be the gift that Santa needs. Nice illustrations based on the Hanna-Barbera

Poetry Passion ~ November Frost

November

No sun--no moon!
No morn--no noon!
No dawn--no dusk--no proper time of day--
No sky--no earthly view--
No distance looking blue--

No road--no street--
No "t'other side the way"--
No end to any Row--
No indications where the Crescents go--

No top to any steeple--
No recognitions of familiar people--
No courtesies for showing 'em--
No knowing 'em!

No mail--no post--
No news from any foreign coast--
No park--no ring--no afternoon gentility--
No company--no nobility--

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member--
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds,
November!
~ Thomas Hood



Something Told the Wild Geese

Something told the wild geese
It was time to go,
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered, "snow."

Leaves were green and stirring,
Berries, luster-glossed,
But beneath warm feathers
Something cautioned, "frost."

All the sagging orchards
Steamed with amber spice,
But each wild breast stiffened
At remembered ice.

Something told the wild geese
It was time to fly,
Summer sun was on their wings,
Winter in their cry.
~ Rachel Field





Stanza I ~ Ode to the West Wind

O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,

Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,

Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,

Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,

Each like a corpse within its grave, until

Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow

Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill

(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)

With living hues and odours plain and hill:

Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;

Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear!

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley 

LXXIX

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on."
~ Emily Dickinson







November

November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.
~ Elizabeth Coatsworth

10 Books to fill the Post-Election Void

Are you a political junkie feeling restless now that the election excitement is over? Are you craving the intrigue of smoke-filled war rooms and rousing populist speeches, but have to settle for C-Span or MSNBC? Or maybe you just want to know what the heck happened for the past three months?

Let me help you ~ here are ten books about politics, candidates and campaigns with all the electioneering you crave, plus a big boost of history to put everything about 2012 in context. Some are about the left, some about the right, but all are fascinating.

Note: Both links and pictures will take you directly to Amazon.

1.
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don't
Numbers guy Nate Silver is either a hero or villain depending on your political views. Starting out as a progressive diarist on Daily Kos then rising to New York Times blogger status, he correctly predicted the outcome of both the 2008 and 2012 down to the exact states and number of electoral votes won by Obama, McCain, and Romney. While other statisticians may claim the same success, Silver was the most outspoken on the internet both times, which made him a lighting rod for criticism from all sides.

2.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin gives behind-the-scenes details about the White House of President Abraham Lincoln. This is a great book if you crave more Lincoln after watching the movie of the same name, which comes out in theaters Nov. 16.

3.
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
This book by Republican writers John Heilemann and Mark Halperin gives you the two-fold story of the 2008 presidential race, starting with Hillary Clinton's tough primary fight against Barack Obama, then moving on to John McCain's stunning pick of running mate Sarah Palin and all the drama that followed.

4.
The Selling of the President: The Classical Account of the Packaging of a Candidate
In this age of 24-hour television, we forget that at one time voters had no idea they were being subjected to marketing ploys thought up by Mad Men types. Author Joe McGinniss was the first to expose how presidential candidates are "packaged" for the public. Learn how Roger Ailes, who went on to be president of Fox News, was once just a TV producer trying to put a better and more voter-friendly face on Richard Nixon.

5.
The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown
The long, long lines of the 2012 campaign made everyone wonder why some states run elections so smoothly while others are in a big mess. Author Richard Hasen was an adviser to the Al Gore campaign during the 2000 recount fiasco in Florida and has made it his mission in life to parse and explain our rather byzantine voting system.

6.
Why Romney Lost
Republican pundit David Frum believes Mitt Romney lost through a combination of factors, but mainly because the candidate and party were seen as out of touch with a new diverse America. But he has suggestions for how to fix that in coming elections.

8.
1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year that Transformed America
If we think 2012 was a wild ride, then consider the election battle of 1948 with President Roosevelt's successor Harry Truman running in a primary against previous VP Henry Wallace and Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond. In the general election, the race was so close that some newspapers made the now-famous mistake of reporting that Thomas Dewey had won instead.

7.
The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism
This is probably the most even-handed look at the divisive Tea Party to date. Authors Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson of Harvard University took time to interview ordinary people across America who identify with the Tea Party movement, which is based on the premise that half of society pays taxes to give "free stuff" to the other half. Whether you are part of the elite 1% or the more common 47%, this book is enlightening.

9.
Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent
E.J. Dionne is a liberal, but he tries to strike a balance here while explaining the causes of our "divided" government. This is also a good book to read if you know nothing about politics but are planning to vote in the next presidential election. How did things ever get so confusing?

10.
Presidential Campaign Posters: Two Hundred Years of Election Art
This coffee-table book put out by the Library of Congress is a lush look at campaign art, plus each of the 100 political posters may be removed from the book and framed. There is also ample backstory for each election. The message - candidates haven't changed much over the decades - they just want you to vote for them!