I was utterly charmed when I first read Jane O'Connor's most recent offering, Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas. Nancy is as winning as ever as she enthusiastically helps her family prepare for Christmas. But an accident involving a tree topper threatens to ruin the holiday. Can Nancy bounce back? The illustrations by Robin Glaser are stunning in their beautiful, whimsical detail as well. You might want to go out and purchase a copy, because kids are going to want to look at this one again and again.
Elementary school age kids will love Barbara Robinson's classic The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It tells the story of how the neighborhood misfits, the Herdman children, manage to land starring roles in the church's Christmas pageant. Their humorous and sometimes poignant reactions to the story of Christmas, which they have never heard before, will make kids and adults alike laugh and ponder the true meaning of the holiday. Plus, it includes one of the best quotes ever: "HEY! Unto you a child is born!"
Thoughtful older readers may appreciate Jacqueline Woodson's Newbery Honor book Feathers. Frannie, a sixth-grader in an all-black school in 1971, is startled with the rest of her class when a boy with white skin joins their class. The boy is almost immediately nicknamed Jesus Boy. Also, her friend Samantha is becoming more and more religious. Frannie has a lot to think about as the Christmas season approaches.Also, if you are thinking about buying some books as presents, the Center for Children's Books at the University of Illinois has recently published its 2009 Guide Book to Gift Books, available here.
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