Why We Shoyld Read the Nqtivity on Kids

For every child filled with eager anticipation nigh Christmas, I doubtable there's a mother wondering how she'll manage all the extras that back-trail the month of December. As a mom with 3 kids, I've discovered a mode of inbound into the season that doesn't involve a trip to the grocery store, an afternoon of marathon blistering, or craft projects that require sequins, textile, or hot gum (I'1000 a piddling tired merely typing that). You tin can even do it lying down or in your favorite chair.

It'due south reading.

Years ago, our family started accumulating a small drove of the many Christmas books written for children. Each year, a child would receive one new book as a Christmas gift, and throughout December we would read our way through the growing collection. These books—which practise a masterful task of showing instead of only telling the gospel truths of Appearance and Christmas—have delighted me every bit much as they have my children. Every bit we near the stop of Advent and approach the 12 days of Christmas, here are 10 favorites for you to read and enjoy:

The Story of Holly and Ivy

by Rumer Godden (illustrated by Barbara Cooney)

A six-year-old orphan girl goes looking for a home, a doll in a toyshop wishes to exist loved, and a childless couple longs for a family. Godden's book is a captivating story most the anguish of emptiness, the want to belong, and the triumph of skillful over darkness and futility. I've read it to my daughters yr after year, and information technology'south so enchanting that I've discovered them pulling it off the shelf to read fifty-fifty during summer months.

Song of the Stars

by Emerge Lloyd-Jones

The author of the bestselling Jesus Storybook Bible, Lloyd-Jones has a knack for making words sing in a way that stirs please in both kids and adults. In this picture show book, she imagines the eager longing of animals, copse, stars, wind, flowers, skies and seas—even individual blades of grass—as each one anticipates the nativity of Christ and how information technology will modify the world. The story helps children grasp the wonder of the Incarnation and the truth that (to echo Kuyper) every square inch of cosmos was fabricated by Christ and belongs to him.

The Christmas Day Kitten

by James Herriot (illustrated by Ruth Brown)

You don't accept to be an beast lover to fall in love with James Herriot'due south delightful stories, many of which are based on his experiences equally a country veterinarian in northern England in the mid-1900s. This is his tale of a stray cat who, earlier she dies, secures a amend life for her newborn kitten by bringing him to the home of Mrs. Pickering, "the but identify of comfort and warmth she had always known." It'southward a touching book nearly grief, restoration, and the beauty of community.

The Gift of the Magi

past O. Henry (illustrated by P. J. Lynch)

Although information technology was written more than than 100 years agone, this story still delivers a powerful, timeless tale of a husband and wife who relinquish their most cherished possessions in social club to bless each other. The outcome might seem disappointing—the two gifts cancel each other out—but the couple'due south love for one some other is profound. The story reflects so many glimmers of the gospel through its theme of plush, wholehearted love.

A Certain Small Shepherd

by Rebecca Caudill

Although this book was outset published in 1965, I just recently discovered its gentle, touching story. Caudill tells the tale of a young Appalachian boy, born mute, and how his path intersects with a young couple and their newborn baby who've taken refuge from a blizzard in the male child's nearby church building. The wondrous conclusion leaves no doubt that "the Lord does live this day, and all days. And he is loving and merciful and good."

The Christmas Phenomenon of Jonathan Toomey

by Susan Wojciechowski

Jonathan Toomey is a woodcarver, the best in the valley. But he is haunted by grief and bitterness. A young boy and his widowed mother commission Toomey to brand a special Christmas carving for them. All 3 are seeking to reclaim something they've lost, and the miracle Toomey experiences is one of joy and healing—sure reflections of the Christmas story itself.

Snowflakes Autumn

by Patricia MacLachlan

From the Newberry Medal–winning writer of Sarah, Apparently and Tall, this book explores the renewal of each season, particularly wintertime, when snowflakes fall, "flake, after flake, after fleck. Each one a pattern all its own—no ii the aforementioned—all beautiful." Following the tragic events in Sandy Hook, Connecticut in 2012, the volume was created to bring hope to families. While the bulletin of remembrance is subtle and appropriate for children—most of whom volition simply enjoy the story for its rhythmic depictions of snow and play—the volume comforts me every bit a Christian parent and reminds me of my need and longing for restoration in this dark globe.

An Orange for Frankie

by Patricia Polacco

I can't say plenty about all of the well-written books Polacco has produced for children (more sixty and counting, I believe). Even among her Christmas offerings, information technology'southward hard to choose ane favorite, just for me it's An Orange for Frankie, the story of a family of limited means living in and serving a Michigan farming community. Each Christmas, the children discover unproblematic joy in the gift of an orange given by their father and brought all the mode from Florida by railroad train. This volume celebrates the values of kindness, forgiveness, grace, and dazzler. (Also by Polacco: Christmas Tapestry, The Tree of the Dancing Goats , and Welcome Comfort.)

The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll

by Patricia C. McKissack

McKissack, a Coretta Scott King Award winner, is the author of many highly acclaimed children'due south books that focus on the African American feel (including two of my personal favorites, Goin' Someplace Special and Flossie and the Fox). In this Christmas tale, she tells the story of a family living in the Depression era. On Christmas Day, 3 daughters receive ane gift to share, and one of them faces the isolation that a selfish spirit tin create. It'due south a valuable story about how gifts can't love us back and how entering into a shared experience with others brings true and lasting joy. (Another good book that portrays the African American feel is Under the Christmas Tree by Nikki Grimes.)

Father and Son—A Nativity Story

past Geraldine McCaughrean

This book imagines how Joseph might have felt as the earthly begetter of Jesus. Information technology contains beautiful language and illustrations and takes a high view of God as Joseph wonders how he can adequately intendance for the Savior of the world. "What lullabies should I sing to someone who taught the angels to trip the light fantastic toe and brindled the sky with songbirds?" he asks. "How can I teach him his words and messages: he who strung the alphabet together, he who whispered dreams into a million, million ears, in a thousand dissimilar languages? The very thought of it leaves me speechless."

Others Non to Miss:

For the youngest children, I love the board books editions of Room for a Little I by Martin Waddell and A Child is Born past Margaret Wise Chocolate-brown.

For nonfiction, devotional-manner readings, two wonderful options include Richard Exley's The Indescribable Gift and Ann Voskamp'south Unwrapping the Greatest Gift.

For fun and laughter, we beloved Ian Falconer's Olivia Helps with Christmas and Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry.

New author Allison Hottinger has self-published a book on serving others called The Giving Manger that comes with a hands-on pedagogy tool—an actual wooden manger and clay baby Jesus—that my kids have really enjoyed. While it doesn't have the finesse or bankroll (yet) that comes with a major publishing house, the volume is well worth buying.

Finally, Mortimer's Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson, Christmas in the Country by Cynthia Rylant, Why Christmas Copse Aren't Perfect past Richard H. Schneider and Listen to the Silent Dark by Dandi Daley Mackall all make for wonderful read-aloud selections.

Corrie Cutrer is a writer who lives in the Nashville area with her family. She is likewise a onetime assistant editor of Today's Christian Woman and a recipient of several EPA writing awards.

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Source: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/december-web-only/10-books-you-should-read-to-your-kids-this-christmas.html

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