Holiday Reading

This blog was started as an opportunity to share books that my family enjoys with others. I want to be able to share books that interest a large variety of people, and as the holidays are upon us, I find I might need a little help in this. 

My family is Christian. We celebrate Christmas and do what we can to teach not just the Santa/Gifts/Decorations side of the holiday, but also the Jesus/religious parts to our son and others in our family. I am fully aware and accept that not all people follow our beliefs, and I respect that. However, I do not know much about or own children's books about the other holidays people follow this time of year. (I used to when I was teaching, but I have sense given many of those books away to other teachers, and find myself at a loss now as to what to share with those of other faiths.) 

I would ask for your help now. If you are one who celebrates in a manner other than Christmas during the Holiday Season, please pass along some of your traditions! If you know of any good children's books that are geared towards your religion or faith, please leave a comment letting me know. I am very interested in sharing those with the readers of this blog in addition to sharing the books from my own library! 

Thank you so much for your help. I look forward to seeing what comes my way!

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Due to the Holiday season being upon us, I plan on sharing books related to the season for the next several weeks. After all, it is my favorite time of year. I have more than enough books to share with others that will cover this wonderful Holiday season! I'm really very excited. It is highly likely that there will be more than one book shared a week this month. (That is if I have time. It is also a busy time of year!)

Today I want to share a book that I discovered just last year; God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren. (Author of God Gave Us You, and other books in the God Gave Us series.) Last Christmas was a rough one for us. It was my son's first and, like many American families, we were dealing with a deployment that meant our family would be worlds apart for the holiday season. I don't mind admitting that I was having a hard time getting into the Holiday spirit, no matter the reason for the season.

Guess How Much I Love You by: Sam McBratney & Bunny My Honey by: Anita Jeram

With the Easter holiday right around the corner I decided to talk about two books today, one my son already has, one he will be getting in his Easter basket, and both star bunnies or hares as their main characters!

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney is about Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare and how much they love each other. Sounds pretty simple right?

Little Nutbrown Hare starts off by spreading his arms wide and telling his Daddy that he loves him "This much!" while spreading his arms out as wide as he can manage! Of course, Big Nutbrown Hare, being a big nutbrown hare, has bigger arms and can spread his arms even wider, which he does while telling his baby "But I love you this much!"...which sends Little Nutbrown Hare thinking...

There follows a competition of sorts between Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare, as Little Nutbrown Hare keeps thinking of ways he loves Big Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare keeps telling him that he loves him back. As tall as he can hop, as far as he can see, as tall as he can reach...and even all the way to the moon!

I have read reviews that say it is a unhealthy, competitive book that teaches children that love is a competition and that their love for their parents is not enough. I can truly say that I can see how people would see it like that, and if that is the attitude you have while reading it to your child, how a child could feel that way while listening. I didn't see it that way the first time I read it however, instead I saw a baby and their parent playing a game that I have heard many children and parents play...the "I love you more game"...which I have never seen as competitive but more as a way of expressing something in words that can't possibly be expressed. Like most parents, in the end, Big Nutbrown Hare lets Little Nutbrown hare fall asleep thinking he has won, whispering to his sleeping son that he loves him to the moon...and back, expressing one of the great truths in life. That parents will always love their children more than anything, and that our children will never understand this until they have children of their own.

While I can see why people wouldn't like this book, I love it. The illustrations by Anita Jeram are beautiful, though not with a lot of color or contrast, which might not hold the attention of younger readers who like more color and flash. It is still a book I highly recommend, but you will have to know your child to know if they will be interested in it or if it will be better to wait until they are a little older.

If you would like to know more about author Sam McBratney please feel free to read more here or visit his page on the Harper Collins website. 

Bunny My Honey, which was written and illustrated by Anita Jeram (who illustrated Guess How Much I Love You) is about another long eared family, Mommy Rabbit and her baby, Bunny. Bunny, who Mommy Rabbit calls Bunny, my Honey.  

Mommy Rabbit, as mommy rabbits do, taught Bunny all the things little rabbits need to know. She taught him to hop and twitch his nose and stomp his big old feet. And sometimes, when Bunny's games with his little friends ended in tears, Mommy Rabbit was always there to wipe away his tears as mommy rabbits (and humans) do.

One day, quite without meaning to, Bunny gets lost in the woods, and no matter how hard he tries he can't seem to find his way out again. Scared and alone he starts calling for the one person who is dearest to him, the person who calls him her Honey...his Mommy. Mommy rabbit does just what a mommy rabbit should, and finds and comforts her scared little Bunny Honey.

It is a cute story with beautiful illustrations, which is why it made its way into my son's Easter basket this year. I think that it might bore older children because it really is a simple little tale without too much detail and "fluff", but it is a book I think that my son and other young children will adore. The pictures are beautiful and colorful and the story is sweet for a mother and child to share together. It is one I would recommend reading yourself before spending the money, just in case you feel it will not hold the interest of your child.

If you want to know more about Anita Jeram or her beautiful illustrations, please visit her website.

Thank you for reading!

Bear Of My Heart (Holiday Special)

BEAR OF MY HEART by Joanne Ryder

In honor of the holiday, I wanted to share the book that I bought to give my son on our first Valentine's Day together. Bear of My Heart caught my eye in the store because I frequently call my son my "Baby Bear". I have always had a love for bears, and it has passed over into my adulthood, and thus transferred into my relationship with my baby boy. 

As it turns out, the book was amazingly appropriate to describe my feelings for my little miracle, and I think that many mommies (and daddies) would probably share my opinion. 

"There are so many bears in the world, dear, but there's no other one that will do. You are the bear of my heart, dear, and I am the one who loves you." starts off a wonderful little story about a baby bear and their parent and the love that is shared between them. 

Mama or Papa (they are never specific as to which) Bear speaks of the promise of the future they have together, showing their baby bear the world and all the things they will teach them and take them to see. 

Then come the promises that every parent makes in their heart on the day of their child's birth...the promises to be there whenever their Baby Bear needs them. The promises to give hugs and kisses, to guide and protect, to be there every time they are needed, because "You are the bear of my heart, dear, and nothing can take that away."

I was in love with this little book and its message long before I got to the last lines. It is now safely tucked away for his first Valentine's Day tomorrow with a little message from Mommy written in the front. I hope one day, years from now, he will be looking through old boxes and packages and come across this book. Maybe he'll decide to read it to his own son or daughter, smiling fondly over the thought of his Mother picking this out so many years ago. And hopefully, holding his own precious little miracle in his arms, he will understand the full extent of the message passed on in these pink, gilded pages. 

"No matter how big you may grow, dear, or whether we're near or apart, I will love you forever and ever, for YOU are the bear of my heart." 

 If you are interested in Joanne Ryder or her books, please visit http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Joanne-Ryder/1240247.

Thanks for reading!