Library Advent Follow Up

As I wrote in this post, we do a library advent calendar every night leading up to Christmas beginning with December 1st. Not being particularly knowledgeable when it comes to Children's literature, this has been a learning experience! As I mentioned, we do a mix and match of books about the Christmas season in general (winter, Santa, etc) and then we start zeroing in on Jesus as the day gets closer. The kids call these "Jesus books" and "non-Jesus books," so that's how I have referred to them below. Here are a few of my favorite titles:

Non-Jesus Books:

Santa Duck by David Pilgrim

This book was super cute and fun. I enjoyed the artwork and it was a $1 in the Scholastic Book Order, so bonus there! Brother especially loved this book.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Brett Hellquist

I actually ordered this one after we had started our advent, but it's definitely going in the rotation for next year. It's unabridged, so the language will require some explaining, but the artwork is SPECTACULAR! I took it to school and read it to my 7th graders. I may or may not have cried during the reading.

The Nutcracker from the story by E. T. A. Hoffman, illustrated by Valeria Docampo

Every year, my niece dances in the Nutcracker, and every year, I'm like, "What the heck is going on?" I don't get it, so I don't know how to explain it to my kids. So this year, we ordered this book. It was $9 something, but totally worth it because it is BEAUTIFUL. This one has been repeated already!

There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colander, illustrated by Jared Lee

We loved There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves, so when we saw this one in the Scholastic Book Order ($2), I knew it was a must-have for our advent library. One thing I love about these books and the others like it is that Sister can "read" this book pretty much by herself since the book follows a pattern. As Brother reads every other book, it's nice to have one she can do herself.

Jesus Books:

The Birth of Jesus Activity Book

Sorry for the horizontal pic :)

I bought two of these for $2.99 at Hobby Lobby so each of the kids could complete their own. Inside are stickers, dot-to-dots, mazes, and much more, all revolving around the Christmas story. This was fun and a nice break from just reading.

The First Christmas Night by Keith Christopher, illustrated by Christine Kornacki

This book was also $1 in the Scholastic Book Order, but this one surprised me, because rather than simply telling the story of the first Christmas, it followed the pattern of "The Night Before Christmas" poem. So rather than:

Twas the night before Christmas/When all through the house/Not a creature was stirring/Not even a mouse

it was:

Twas the very first Christmas/When all through the town/Not a creature was stirring/There was not a sound

We had just read the other night before Christmas a few nights before and the kids made the connection. It was fun.

The Big God Story by Michelle Anthony, illustrated by Cory Godbey

I LOVED this one. I got it as part of the literature that came along with the spiritual parenting class I took at church this rotation. I hadn't read it through until we did it with the kids a few nights ago. It tells the "whole" story of scripture, beginning in the garden and ending with the promise that Jesus will return. It is fantastic, and definitely one we will pull out often.

The Tale of Three Trees retold by Angela Ewell Hunt, illustrated by Tim Jonke

I have had this book since I was young and it makes me tear up every time, especially hearing my son read it this year. It tells the story of three trees and the big dreams they had, only to be cut down to form a manger, a boat, and a cross. It was so special to listen to Brother read it and make the connections - "Hey, that's the boat Jesus was in when he calmed the storm!" "That's the manger they laid Jesus in when he was born!" It was precious. This is another one we will read all year long.

What fun this has been! I'm already looking forward to next year :)

Book: Kill the Boy Band

Kill the Boy Band
by Goldy Moldavsky

Length: 320

Format: eBook
Price: Free -downloaded from Overdrive

How I heard about it: it's on the book list I made from my YAL conference

Basic Premise: The Ruperts are coming to the US and four of their biggest fans (Strepurs...Ruperts spelled backwards) are not missing this opportunity to see their idols in concert. But when one of them goes to get ice at the hotel and she runs into a real live Rupert, she isn't quite sure what to do. So she knocks him out and drags him back to their hotel room, where the pandemonium begins.

My Take: 8 out of 10 (scale here)

This book was SO FUN. I read it in four days, which is pretty remarkable considering how busy I am this time of year. It's told in first-person from, arguably, the sanest member of the fangirls. It took me by surprise in several regards. First, there was much more mystery than I anticipated. Once the story got rolling, the plot became deeper and more and more twisted. It's another one of those stories where one bad decision leads to another, much worse decision, and the whole thing starts to spiral. Secondly, this was the first novel from this author, Goldy Moldavsky, and I think she did a great job. I am interested in reading more of her stuff. Lastly, and sadly, I cannot have this book in my classroom. Now that I think about it, I remember that the presenter said it is a book for high schoolers, and I would agree. Between the language and sexual content, it's probably a book suited for older readers. But it was super fun, and the first one off my list!

1. Scythe by Neal Schusterman
2. Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
3. Seeds of America Trilogy by Laurie Halse Anderson
4. Front Lines by Michael Grant
5. Steeplejack by AJ Hartley
6. The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry
7. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
8. The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
9. The Reader by Traci Chee
10. Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin
11. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
12. Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavski
13. The Distance to Home by Jenn Bishop
14. The Best Man by Richard Peck
15. Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
16. Ghost by Jason Reynolds
17. This Is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
18. The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan
19. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

20. The Serpent King by Jeff Zetner