Christmas   |  Hanukkah  |  Kwanzaa  |  Coffee Table Books

Christmas

Once There Was A Christmas Tree  $13.99, Ages: PreK - Up
How do you turn one tree to four?  Well when Mr. Bear goes into the woods and finds the largest tree he can bring back the sharing begins.  This is a really nice story that exemplifies what the season is about.  Mr. Bear shares with Mr. Fox, who shares with Old Rabbit, who shares with a mouse family.  It's a really nice story that kids and parents will enjoy.  The glittery snow globe cover is a nice touch too!

Can You See What I See? The Night Before Christmas  $13.99, Ages: Pre K - Up
For kids who like the I Spy Books, they'll have fun with this one.  "The Night Before Christmas," features a gingerbread house, Christmas cookies, snow globes and more. Each picture features a bunch of items for your grandchildren to find.  If you want you can also read the original poem which is printed on the endpapers.

Waiting for Christmas  $6.99, Ages 3-5
This is a cute little board book for small hands.  The pages are few and thick, but each one has a snow globe like picture window that will appear to kids of all ages.  The story is simple and sweet as are the illustrations.

Dora's Starry Christmas $3.99, Ages 3-7
We are a huge fan of Dora and her bi-lingual adventures and this one is just as good.  When Santa's reindeer arrive sick it's Dora and her Explorer Stars to the rescue.  Kids will enjoy the familiarity of all the Dora characters including Diego, Tico, Swiper and more.

Mortimer's Christmas Manger $15.95, Ages 4-8
Mortimer decides he needs a new home since his is cold and drafty.  He spies the perfect home and spends every night moving out its inhabitants so he has a place to sleep.  Every day while he's scouting for crumbs they are all put back.  When he hears the story of Christmas and the night the baby Jesus was born he realizes that the bed is not for him.  Luckily he finds another home - providing a sweet ending.

Bear Stays Up For Christmas $16.95, Ages 4 to 8
Bear's friends want to make it to Christmas so they do whatever it takes to keep him awake.  They make carry the Christmas tree, help decorate and more.  Eventually all his friends fall asleep and he stays awake while Santa comes.  When morning arrives Santa has come and they are all surprised.  A cute story that will have kids asking for it again and again!  

The 12 Days of Christmas, $9.99 Ages Pre-School - 8
This cute little book has two pig "lovers" and each day the male pig gives the gift from the song starting with the Partridge in the Pear tree and ending with a twelve lords a leaping and a really full house!  It's a great way to introduce your kids to this great holiday song.  While you're at it you can also practice counting.

Christmas Crafts American Girl® $15.95, 8 and up
Older girls will just love this book in the American Girl Series.  It's a great Christmas craft book that has excellent photos and clear directions for Christmas things from home made "angel kisses" to secret Santa stockings. 

Samantha’s Christmas Crafts American Girl®, $15.95, Age 8 and up 
Our 8-year-old book reviewer was so excited when we gave her this book.  She has been reviewing a lot of books lately for us and happens to just love the American Girl Series.  When she opened this she started to plan with her mother all the Christmas crafts that they can make in preparation for the holidays!  This great book includes supplies for five crafts, including holographic glitter, mini jingle bells, iridescent beads, sequins, iridescent chiffon ribbon, four perforated pages of origami paper for Japanese fan ornaments, and four perforated pages of card stock.  According to our reviewer this is a FABULOUS book! 

Christmas Window Art  $19.95. Ages 9 to 12 
Here's a fun craft that will spread holiday cheer throughout your house.  This book includes six bottles of a special peel-off window paint in all the holiday colors.  The step-by-step instructions make it very easy to do.  The book includes 101 Christmas designs, but don't feel limited to those - try your own too.  This craft is for 9-12 year olds but we found that younger children can easily do this too.  Just provide the outline and let them do the rest.

A Wish for Wings That Work  $7.95, Age 4 to 8
Have you ever read the Bloom County comic strip?  Well, this book is written and illustrated by Berkeley Breathed the creator of "Opus."  It's a cute book about Opus a penguin who longs to fly, and wishes for Christmas to be able to fly.  However, it's his swimming ability that makes him a hero as he saves Santa's.  He is never able to fly, but his friends the snow ducks take him on the flight of his life.  A cute book that is a nice twist on holiday wishes. 

The Christmas Story  $7.95, Age: Pre-School 
Told in a simple to read rhyming style, this illustrated board book is a introduction to the story of Christmas. The end of the book includes conversations starters regarding the story of Christmas, as well as a prayer to share.

Children's Everyday Bible  $19.99, Age 4 to 8
Reviewed by a Director of Education at church with 150+ children, she reported that the book was excellent for children ages 6 to 8, and suggested that if you chose to read it to children under 6 perhaps you should consider skipping some of the stories that are inappropriate. She said, "it has great illustrations that are child friendly but not cartoon-like.  It is respectful of the subject matter."   She reported that she would give it "five stars out of five."

Hanukkah

My First Menorah $7.99 Ages 4 -8  
This sparkly board book is a fun way to learn about the 8 nights of Hanukkah.  Each page discusses another tradition or reason why Hanukkah is celebrated.  Kids will like the foil covered candles and enjoy the counting.

The Hanukkah Mice $15.98, Ages 4 -8  
This is a sweet story that takes three mice through the eight days of Hanukkah.  Each day they discover something that makes it a special holiday from the candles to the gelt.  It's a sweet story that is a simplistic version of the holiday, but children will enjoy listening to.

Spin the Dreidel $7.99 Ages Baby-Preschool
This book does a good job of explaining how you play the Dreidel game on Hanukkah.  It goes through each letter on the dreidel Nun, gimel, hey, and shin and explains when the dreidel lands on it whether you win all the gelt, some of the gelt or none of the gelt.  It has a brief history of Hanukkah at the end.  For those of you wondering what Nes Gadol Hayah Sham mean's it translates to "A Great Miracle Happened There."

Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins $6.95, Ages 4 to 8
If you are ever looking for a fabulous book about Hanukah then this is it.  This is the story of a village where the townspeople are unable to celebrate Hanukkah.  Every year hobgoblins ruin it, they snuff out the candles, throw the latkes and destroy the dreidels -- the along comes Hershel.  His outwits the goblins and breaks the spell.  It's a great adaptation of the ancient Hanukkah story in which the Syrians forbade the Jews to worship as they wanted.  

It's a Miracle! : A Hanukkah Storybook $16.95, Ages 4 to 8
This is a great story about Owen, the "official candle lighter" and his storytelling Grandma Karen. Every night after Owen has lit the Hanukkah candles his Grandma tucks him into bed and tells him bedtime stories about a girl who grows up to be a rabbi; a soldier who persuaded Jewish families to pray for the health of his wife; a young woman who earned enough money to buy her own horse and so on. These stories are actually stories about the members of Owen's own family which becomes clear to him on the 8th night. The book also includes The Hanukkah Legend, Blessings and a Glossary.

Pearl's Eight Days of Chanukah : With a Story and Activity for Each Night   $6.99, Ages 4 to 8
 This cute book about Pearl and Avi and how their cousins Sophie and Harry come to spend Chanukah with them. The book includes an activity for each of the eight days of Chanukah including how to make your own menorah, potato lakes, applesauce, play the driedel game and more! It also includes the blessings, songs, a glossary and more. It's a great book for families who wish to create their own special Chanukah traditions.

My First Hanukkah Board Book  $6.99, Age Range: Baby - Preschool
This book uses eye-catching photos and is designed in a nice chunky board book fashion.  It provides a good explanation of Hanukkah that is very appropriate for preschoolers. The pictures provide a good descriptive narrative including pictures of the foods eaten during Hanukkah, pictures of a menorah etc.  It's a great introduction to the Festival of Lights. 

Hanukkah! $6.95, Age Range: 4 to 8
This National Jewish Book Award winner is cute little story about a family preparing for the celebration of Hanukkah.  This sweet story has a family together lighting the menorah, singing songs, eating traditional foods.  One sibling is determined to teach the younger how to say "Hanukkah" and in the end is successful!  The end of the book includes Hanukkah words and their meanings.  A nice warm book to celebrate the holiday.

Ultimate Hanukkah Sticker Book $6.99
Done in typical DK style you'll find more than 60 colorful and reusable stickers and interactive backgrounds.  This is a great way to introduce your grandchild to the Hanukkah traditions. 

Jewish Holiday Treats  $14.95 
This great book has recipes for every Jewish holiday from Chanukah to Purim, Passover to Rosh Hashanah.  The recipes are traditional with some twists.  There are simple crafts and classic recipes that the whole family can enjoy.  This is a beautiful book that you and your grandchildren will enjoy for years. 

Kwanzaa

Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story  $15.95 Age Range: 4 to 8 In an African village live seven brothers who make family life miserable with their constant fighting. When their father dies, he leaves an unusual will: by sundown, the brothers must make gold out of seven spools of thread. If they fail, they will be turned out as beggars.    A Blues Clues Holiday  $3.99 Age Range: 2-4   Celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa with Blue and Steve and all their friends in this special multicultural holiday book. Coffee Table Books Great World Atlas (DK Publishing) $100.00 Don't let the price tag scare you off.  This book is worth every penny!  If you want an amazing book that you can share with your children or grandchild this Atlas is the book.  The book has amazing current satellite imagery with DK's unique mapping technology.  There's tons of information packed inside such as natural resources and industry.  There are 320 high-resolution satellite images, 96 large-scale regional maps, 200 terrain models, and 750 full-color photographs.  We have spent hours just looking up things in the book.  It's fun to open the book and read it to kids to give them a better appreciation of the world we live in.  Every family should have an atlas in their home! The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Holidays $14.95 This book is perfect for the living room, bedroom, dorm room or bathroom.  There are funny tips such as: How To Prevent a Turkey from Exploding, How to Untangle Christmas Lights and How to Fit Into Clothing That's Too Tight.  All these tips and more are perfect tools to survive the Holidays with grace and style!  By the way, if your like my husband you'll need to study the "How To Wrap a Present Without Wrapping Paper!"   Christmas Family Gatherings (Chronicle Books) $22.95 This book is like Martha Stewart meets practical life.  There are ideas and suggestions that anyone can do.  The recipes and directions are simple and clearly explained.  Most things are accompanied by great photographs.  One of my favorite are the Reindeer and Snowman thumbprint cards.  If you're feeling ambitious you could make the carnation snowman and if you aren't you can just make Hot Cocoa.  There's something for everyone and the kids can certainly help!