Mickey's Christmas Carol

You most likely know what this book is about. I like Mickey's Christmas Carol, both the book and the cartoon, because it introduces young children to a classic Christmas story. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is familiar to us all through retellings and lots of different movie versions. Last year I finally read the original and even though Dickens can be difficult to read, I can tell you that A Christmas Carol is worth your time (and significantly shorter than his other books).

Or you can stick to the children's version like Mickey's Christmas Carol with your kids. Do you have a favorite version of Dickens's classic Christmas tale?

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Mickey’s Christmas Carol

By Disney Enterprises

Adapted from Charles Dickens

Publisher: Sandy Creek

Year: 2010

Info: Full color illustrations

Ages: Picture Books

Themes: Christmas, Classics

Listen to the Silent Night by Dandi Daley Mackall

Listen to the Silent Night by Dandi Daley Mackall is one of my favorite Christmas books. The story imagines the night of Christ's birth and how it was likely "not such a silent night." And it's illustrated with beautiful paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher.

My daughter's know it as the "book that sometimes makes Mommy cry." Having given birth myself, I can't help but tear up at the page where "Mary groaned in pain, Joseph by her side. A shout rang out--Baby Jesus cried!" It hits close to home--the pain of giving birth and the joy of the baby's first cry. It makes the long-told story and the people in it seem very real to me.

This is a great read aloud book for Christmastime. Are there any books your family reads together every Christmas?

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Listen to the Silent Night

By Dandi Daley Mackall

Paintings by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher

Publisher: Dutton’s Children’s Books

Year: 2011

Info: paintings

Countdown to Christmas with Books!

For the last few years, my family has done a countdown to Christmas with books. I wrap our Christmas books and every day counting down to Christmas we get to open one and read it.

Normally we start on December 1 and have 24 books to countdown to the day before Christmas. This year we're going out of town for Christmas, so I wrapped enough books to start the day after Thanksgiving and end the day before we leave for our Christmas vacation. You could easily adapt it to fewer days if you don't have that many Christmas books--it took us a few years to collect so many.

Besides the fact that it's fun to open a present every day, it demonstrates to children that books are a gift.

Do you have any Christmas traditions surrounding books? What is your favorite Christmas book?

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss

Are we allowed to talk about Christmas now? Good. I indulge in Christmas songs, books, and movies before Thanksgiving. But we do reserve decorating for Christmas until the day after.

Last night my three-year-old chose "Mr. Grinch" for her bedtime book. It was followed by a discussion about why Mr. Grinch doesn't like Christmas and why he takes all the presents. Her takeaway? Maybe Mr. Grinch likes Halloween because he's a monster. Great works of literature inspire different thoughts in everyone.

I can't imagine that anyone out there doesn't know the story of the Grinch. It's part of our cultural tradition around Christmastime. If someone is being a Grinch we know what it means just as we know what it means to be a Scrooge. But when was the last time you read the book? I think the cartoon that came from the book is much more familiar than the book itself. Did you know or remember that the drawings are done in only black, white, and red? A green Grinch came out of the cartoon. I hope everyone gets a chance to read the book this Christmas season--and that you get to sing "He's a mean one, Mr. Grinch" in the deepest voice you can manage.

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

By Dr. Seuss

Publisher: Random House

Year: 1957

Info: Black, white, and red illustrations