Season’s Readings!

Years ago a friend gave me a copy of this painting of Santa reading a child to sleep and I’ve loved it ever since.  I wish I could read the author’s name better so I can credit him/her and find additional copies of it.  (If you know, please tell me!)

I love Christmas stories, particularly stories that have been illustrated in a children’s book format.  The prose and illustrations bring such beauty and depth to the Christmas season.   I’ve been collecting Christmas books for almost twenty years now and have a great collection.  Some are tattered and curled at the corners.  Some I’ve protected more carefully.  Some were gifts from friends I love, some reminders of my childhood.  Several years ago I compiled a list of them all, and this year a friend asked if she could use the list for a presentation she was preparing.  I went through my books to update the list and sent her off with a load of Christmas books to share.

The books are back and I’ve been thinking it would be fun to share them here.  Many of them are classics, stories most of us probably own, but many are less known, some out of print, some available in countless editions.  I have a mix of cheerful stories and stories laced with meaning, all of which help to capture and enhance the spirit of Christmas.  I’ve decided that few things bring the real meaning of Christmas to light better than Christmas stories.  I love reading them to my children because they bring a bit of magic to our home.  They also preach sermons about giving and selflessness that fall on deaf ears if I just start talking.  These books, with their luminous pictures and beautiful words, open the hearts of my children to plant seeds of goodness in their souls.

So, welcome to a series of spotlights (in no particular order) on Christmas books our family treasures.  I’m calling it Season’s Readings and I hope you’ll find a new treasure or two, and share your own with me.

Merry Christmas!

Jennifer