With everyone home from school, this week is great for reading books together! Check out my post on Honest To Nod today.
birds of bethlehem
One we’ve been reading lately: Birds of Bethlehem. “Every morning, the birds of Bethlehem gathered in the field to glean any corn that might be left from the harvest. This winter morning was different.” Tomie dePaola has published a superb collection of holiday books in his lifetime, and Birds of Bethlehem is one of them. It’s a bird’s perspective of the birth of Christ, told simply and illustrated beautifully in a warm, sincere palette.
Christmas in Noisy Village
What we’re reading this week: Christmas in Noisy Village, by Astrid Lindgren and by Ilon Wikland, which has illustrated excerpts from the rustic Swedish classic. Noisy Village is comprised of three farms—North Farm, Middle Farm and South Farm—and earned its name “because there are so many children around making noise all the time.” Reading about all the goings-on in Noisy Village will make you long to travel to the children’s snowy Scandinavian landscape and make gingersnap pigs with them. Avery’s favorite part was when everyone headed to Britta and Anna’s house for a Christmas party which included bobbing for apples and noshing on fruit cake and tarts!
holiday crafternoon
You can read about the recent holiday crafternoon we had on The Land of Nod's blog today.
little lit book series winter edition
Our Instagram #littlelitbookseries theme is winter in honor of this cold (yet warm in sentiments) season of the year. Take a look at everyone else’s wintry picks in the #littlelitbookseries today. Here are mine:
The Snowman is one of the best wordless storybooks we have today. Drawn by Raymond Briggs, the illustrations have a certain magic about them. It’s a classic heartfelt tale about a boy who, unable to sleep, goes out one night and finds that the snowman in his front yard has come to life. After introducing the snowman to the wonders of the human world (like the TV and stove at his house), the boy and his new friend go on an unforgettable adventure, flying through the midnight sky. This is definitely one to add to your wintry trove of books.
The Jolly Christmas Postman is a gem by Janet and Allen Ahlberg and is a spinoff of the original Jolly Postman. This time, the Jolly Postman makes his rounds in fairy tale land with Christmas cards and surprises, like a jolly board game for Red Riding Hood (that you can actually play!) and a delicious "book in a book" for the Gingerbread Boy. This is definitely one of the must fun and interactive books in our holiday collection and a favorite to read at this time of year!