It’s Christmas time, and Paddington wants to do something special. He suggests to the Brown family that they head down to the department store to see Santa. There will be a sleigh ride and a visit to Santa’s workshop, as well. Paddington is especially curious to see where Santa makes his marmalade. (I didn’t know Santa made marmalade, but who am I to argue with Paddington Bear?) The Browns are clueless about the marmalade too, which makes me feel better. They headed off to the store and Paddington made a beeline to Santa. There were two huge sacks of toys, … Continue reading →

We’re all familiar with the classic poem “T’was the Night Before Christmas.” This cute children’s picture book takes the rhyme and gives it a new twist. On the left side of the book, we are treated to the original rendition. On the right, we see that someone isn’t asleep yet, and he’s adding his own verses as well. He’s trying to go to sleep, he really is – but we all know how hard it is to fall asleep on Christmas Eve, when we’re all so excited about everything that’s going to happen the next day. He tries commanding himself … Continue reading →

The Kringles love Christmas. In fact, everything in their world revolves around it. The father owns a jingle bell company. The mother owns the Mistletoe-and-Nail Salon. They keep their tree up all year long. Sophie and Chris, the children, have presents galore – and still want more. Auntie Claus watches all this with a disapproving eye, and suggests that perhaps they get too many presents, but the Kringles won’t hear of such a thing. So Auntie does her best to instill good values in the children, having Sophie over for tea and giving her good Christmas advice, such as how … Continue reading →

What would Christmas be without taking a moment to celebrate with Curious George? He’s almost as much a tradition as Santa Claus! The man with the yellow hat has taken George to the Christmas tree farm to pick out the perfect tree. They’re all lined up, like in the jungle, and George quickly climbs to the top to get a better look. He jumps from tree to tree, looking for just the right one. How many trees are at the farm? They seem to go on forever! He is sitting near the top of one of the tallest ones when … Continue reading →

Julian is getting just a little old for Santa – at least, he thinks so. His mother and father seem to disagree, and Santa is all they can talk about as Christmas gets closer. Finally, just to appease his parents, Julian writes a letter to Santa and asks for a video game system just like his cousin’s. His mother goes a little pale when she sees the request, but Julian assures her that Santa can afford that kind of thing. Christmas morning comes and sure enough – the game system is under the tree. But way back under the tree … Continue reading →

This fun children’s Christmas book is set in a small New England town a long, long time ago. No one had decorated or put candles in their windows. There weren’t even any wreaths on the doors. But then a new family moved in. They had come from Germany, and they decorated and they sang Christmas carols. Everyone called them the Christmas family. They began their preparations in the fall, by gathering up bayberries and making candles by dipping string into wax. The bayberry-scented candles would fill the home with delicious scents. They also gathered apples, pumpkins, and squash, putting them … Continue reading →