Both because I've been so bad about updating the Book of the Week this fall, and because Christmas is just 11 days away and there are so many Christmas books I love, I chose TWO books of the week this week.
The first one is Rosemary Wells' Morris' Disappearing Bag. I have loved this book since I was a little girl. (It came out in 1975.) It's a simple story of four siblings on Christmas morning. Each bunny child finds one gift under the tree. The three older siblings get toys that they each enjoy taking a turn with and sharing. Morris, the youngest bunny, gets a teddy bear. No one wants to play with his bear. All is quickly remedied, however, when Morris finds one more overlooked present under the tree -- a disappearing bag. This present is something everyone wants to take a turn with. Morris spends the rest of Christmas day not only enjoying his gift, but trying out his siblings' gifts as well. My favorite part of the story is hearing the explanation each of Morris' siblings comes up with to explain his disappearance when he tries out his bag. You'll have to read it to see what I mean!
My second pick is Babushka, by Sandra Ann Horn. This is a retelling of a Russian folk tale put out by Barefoot Books, one of my favorite children's publishers. Babushka is an old Russian woman who meets the wise men on their journey to see the newly born Christ child. Sadly, she is too busy cleaning to pay attention to the miraculous events going on around her. Eventually her eyes are opened and she sets out to meet the baby herself. In this version of the story, she gives away all of the presents she packed on her journey, and arrives at the stable empty handed. Afraid to enter without a gift, she turns around to go home. But, Mary beckons her forward and ushers her in to see the child. When she looks in to his eyes, not only does she forget all about her cleaning, but she sees that he is holding all of the gifts she gave away along the way. Mary tells her that everything she gave away with love, she also gave to her son. It's a beautifully illustrated retelling of the story, and reminds us all to put aside our trivial preoccupations and remember the true meaning of Christmas and life.
Do you have any favorite holiday books? I'm always looking for more, and would especially love to hear about any wonderful Hanukkah books. I would love to find something educational and informative (for someone not too familiar with Hanukkah traditions,) but also heart warming. My kids are very intrigued by the idea of eight days of presents!
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