Educating Risa

Here’s some of the books we’ve been enjoying over this Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice season. Hover the mouse of the book image for title and author details.

Olive, the Other Reindeer is a cute story (also available in DVD) of a dog named Olive who mishears the lyrics to ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’: All of the other reindeer…was heard as “Olive, the other reindeer…”. Olive ventures to the North Pole and joins Santa’s flight on Christmas Eve, and his special doggy abilities (strong sense of smell, ability to fetch, etc.) save the day when Santa encounters some unexpected problems. Cobweb Christmas was a lovely, gentle retelling of a folktale about spiders, Christmas trees and tinsel—my boys listened intently and decided we needed a spider ornament for our tree next year.  Polar Express is a classic tale about believing in Santa and “the spirit of Christmas.”

Santa Who? explores the origins of our idea of Santa Claus as a Christmas gift-giver, starting back with the Bible and moving through many countries and traditions (Turkey, Saint Nicholas, Holland, Sinter Cleas, Solstice, Germany, England, Father Christmas, Italy, etc.). A very child-friendly book, and one that is just right for children just outgrowing the simple “believe in Santa Claus” stage—and adults learn things too! Can You See What I See: Night Before Christmas contains the entire text of the classic poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore on the inside flaps, and then has “I Spy”-type searches inside, with pictures themed to the poem (e.g., a picture of stockings hung by the chimney). Latkes and Applesauce is a heart-warming tale about a Jewish family struggling to make their food stretch for the 8 days of Hanukkah in a terrible blizzard—and there were not enough apples for applesauce, and the potatoes for latkes remained buried under the thick snow. To complicate matters, one night a kitten mews at the door, and the next night a scrawny dog. The children embrace the animals, and the parents reluctantly agree to share their inadequate food with them, for they too are “God’s creatures.” Finally, on the eighth night, the sky began to clear, and the family ventured out into the snow. The dog began digging in the snow and found potatoes, and the cat climbed a tree and found some apples still on the branches. Mama, who wisely saved some oil for Hanukkah, made heaps of latkes and applesauce, and the children decide on most suitable names for their new pets. The book has some additional information about Hanukkah and how to play dreidel and make latkes at the back of the book. A superb story, and a great introduction for young children to the idea that different folks have different traditions and celebrations at this time of year.

The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza is a light-hearted book about a father who takes decorating for Christmas to extremes from a sense of neighbourly competition. If You Take A Mouse to the Movies is one of a very popular series. The Legend of the Poinsettia is the retelling of a Mexican folktale about how the poinsettia came to be the Christmas flower. In it, a young girl, whose mother is ill and unable to complete the new blanket for the Baby Jesus doll in the Christmas procession, feels ashamed as she has nothing beautiful to offer as a gift to the Baby Jesus. A mysterious old woman appears, and advises her that “any gift is beautiful, because it is given.” The girl offers some weeds to the Baby Jesus, and despite the rude whispers of others, the weeds blossom into the beautiful poinsettia flowers—red stars everywhere. We all enjoyed learning more about la Flor de Nochebuena—the flower of the Holy Night.

Who Would Like a Christmas Tree? follows the story of a tree in a Christmas farm, and the homes it provides to all sorts of animals through the year: the chickadees like it in January for shelter, the deer in April (munching the new soft shoots), the robin in June to build his nest, the aphids in July, etc. And, of course, the human family in December, who takes the tree home to decorate. A Moose in a Maple Tree is a very silly Canadian version of the 12 days of Christmas—not quite as funny as the Bob and Doug McKenzie version (“…3 French Toasts, 2 Turtlenecks, and a Beer…in a tree!”) in my opinion, but much more child-friendly. The boys enjoyed it and wanted to sing it again and again (and the picture on the final page elicited howls of laughter each time). Grandmother Winter was the book we read on Solstice, talking about how everything is quietly resting under grandmother’s white quilt of snow, but will wake up again as the sun returns. Happy reading!