Listen to God's voice at the foot of the crucifix." ~St. Gaspar del Bufaro~

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Books Are Made To Share

Aren't books made to share?
This is a special Christmas book that holds a dear place in my heart.  It's the first Christmas book I bought for my oldest son in our time of trial.  (This same 3 year old son is now 18!..sniff, sniff) Alabaster's Song remains a timeless treasure and we continue to read it every Christmas Eve, just prior to the Christmas Story from the Gospels of Matthew or Luke.
It is a sweet story of hope and belief, not to mention the beautifully vivid illustrations!
This delightful story is about a little six-year old boy who hears the angel singing on top of their Christmas tree.  The angel goes on to tell the boy what it was like to see Bethlehem.  The book ends with the sweetest twist:)  It's the perfect book for boys...But great for girls too!

A family member gave me this book the first Christmas that I was a widow...
Boy could I relate but it was very difficult for me to pick it up again until several years later.  I am grateful to say that God's grace prevails and I can actually enjoy it now and appreciate the deep heartfelt message of the joyful miracle.

Like many families, we have continued to collect many Advent and Christmas books over the years.  We always look forward to placing them out on our display shelf.
Believe it or not, this is only about half!
We have to be very disciplined to work through all of them each year.  Of course some undoubtedly get missed until the next time around:)
Here are a few books that our toddler loves!
Santa's prayer is really sweet and comes with an audio CD and cute song to Baby Jesus.  (This book is published by Pauline Books and Media). Advent has just begun and Angel toddler is wearing it out already!
This Is the Stable has the most peaceful rhythm...I love a book with rhythm...
Also perfect (and very inexpensive) for Pre-K and up.
For the whole family...
This is our newest addition and we are loving it!  Laurie from Catholic Baby Steps recommended Jotham's Journey last year and we have been saving it until now.  We read a chapter each day and it's the perfect Advent journey for the whole family.  Thank you, Laurie:)
A few other favorites!
What is it about Christmas mice and donkeys?  These seem to be the favorite animals to write about!  We have several Christmas books about mice AND donkeys but our children LOVE Mortimer's Christmas Manger... So much that  I've even passed this one on as a gift:)
Only A Star was new for us last year and it captivated all of us.
Classic Favorites all in one big book!

Here are a few other fun ones we enjoy for the soldiers and firefighters of the family:)
Firefighter's Night Before Christmas
Soldier's Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve is not complete without reading the Christmas Story!  We often read the direct Biblical account but we enjoy these throughout the Christmas season.
I'm linking up to Jessica's Favorite Advent and Christmas Books over at Shower of Roses.  Be sure to stop over for some amazing ideas and links to other lovely blogger book baskets!



7 comments:

  1. What a unique collection of books, Tiffany! Kind of choked at the beautiful memories of the first two you shared with us. Such meaning! I like how you tied in firefighter's and a soldier's story as well :)

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  2. Thanks for sharing your books, Tiffany. We don't have any Christmas/Advent board books and I would like to get some for our little guy (who is almost two!). We used to have some baby board books, but after going through 7 kids previously they just wore out and had to be tossed. *sigh*

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  3. You are most welcome for the recommendation. We are really enjoying the third book in the series.

    I have never heard of Alabaster's Song! Isn't it amazing what memories can be wrapped up in the stories we share with our children?

    We are loving the advent devotion booklet that you recommended. I was able to purchase a few and share with friends!

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  4. Thank you Tiffany for all the great book ideas! I've put a hold on a bunch of them at our local library!

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  5. I just love Christmas books! I put all of our books in our gutter shelves today too :) So much to look forward too!

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  6. The books have been coming in and my son and I have enjoyed reading them! I hope you don 't mind, but I blogged about it today and linked back to you.

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  7. Tiffany, thank you fopr sharing your favorites for Advent. Some are new to me and I will enjoy checking them out.

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