WWC: Celebrate the Joy of Reading

Courtesy of Odd Mix, the words are Celebrate and Joy.

Admittedly, I take great liberty in the Weekend Words Challenge, but Odd Mix has not booted me out of the game yet. So, today I am celebrating the joys of reading; and what better time than Christmas? I should probably tell you that I love children's books. Here are some of my favorites, both old and new. Graymama, this is for you and your family of readers!

Does anyone remember the Ideals Magazine? My mom used to get it back in the day. This one, published in 1958, shaped my perception of Santa Claus and just what must have been happening in the North Pole in the days preceding Christmas.

I remember laying on my tummy in the living room , getting lost in the pictures even before I could read the words. There are two pages to read between every two-page picture. I share this book with a first grade class every Christmas and they love to find the details in the pictures, just like I did.

Here are some of the newer books that have been added to my list of favorite Christmas stories:

Olive, the other Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh: This is a neat little story that was made into a Christmas movie a few years back. Olive, a pup, hears the song Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer and believes the verse "all of the other reindeer..." is a summons for her to head to the North Pole to be Santa's helper. She becomes an integral part of the Christmas Eve happenings in a very useful and exciting way.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian: Not really Christmas, but great for winter-time, this true story is a Caldecott Medal book about Wilson Bentley, a Vermont farmboy. He was so fascinated with snowflakes that he worked with a microscope and camera to capture them on film, thus the name Snowflake Bentley. This became his life's work and many of his photos are still used today. Last year I told this story at a Student of the Month Breakfast. We talked about how each snowflake, like each of us, is different. In Snowflake Bentley's words, "Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated." It was pretty neat. We linked to this site with a laptop and projection unit to make snowflakes. The illustrations are outstanding in this book.

Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco: This is a great Christmas heart-warmer about a little boy named Welcome Comfort. Being a foster child, Welcome moves frequently and at each school he becomes a magnet for bullies. He is befriended by the school's custodian and things begin to look up. You can probably guess who the custodian turns out to be! There's more...but I don't want to spoil the ending for you. You will love it!

A Wish for Wings That Work: An Opus Christmas Story by Berkeley Breathed: I love this story! Opus longs to fly, but finds that he is much more valuable as a swimmer to save the day for Santa. As always, the illustrations are the best and you know I love Opus. It just doesn't get any better than this. Unless of course you want to read my all time favorite...

Red Ranger Came Calling by Berkeley Breathed: In this book the author retells the story his dad shared on the Christmas Eves of his youth. It takes place in 1939, when his then nine year old father, called Red (short for Red of Ranger fame), requests an official Buck Tweed Two-speed Crime-stopper Star-hopper Bicycle from a hermit named Saunder Clos. What a Christmas morning surprise! This is one of those books that seems to be written on two levels; one for the child in each of us and one that speaks to us as adults. I love this book and the way it makes me feel each Christmas when I read it again!

May joy be yours as you celebrate this holiday season...maybe with a little Christmas reading!

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In a Nutshell

A place set aside to answer
201 autobiographical questions
from a mother for her daughter.
This may take awhile...
join us if you like.


1. One of mom's traits I admired was: that she always seemed to be quite the lady. Even when she was working in the garden, she wore a hat and gardening gloves. As I look through the pictures that remember her life to me now, I see a very elegant woman where a young farm girl once stood. To me, this is quite something.