Christmas books for Over 6s

Now for Advent Books to read to the over 6s. I love sharing these because there are so many opportunities to talk about the 'real meaning of Christmas', to consolidate work that classes have done in history units in class, to hark back to discussions in Circle Time and to draw on travel experiences.

1.  Cat in the Manger by Michael Foreman;  The Witness by Robert Westall;  Room For a Little One by Martin Waddell or any other nativity story where the point of view is changed. These three look at the story from the animals point of view. There are many others as well. The donkey's view also often appears in picture books. It is always interesting to be a bystander and report on an event and I enjoy asking students to do this themselves so these stories give them a starting point to form their own view. I read about a picture book this week that gives Joseph's view. How modern!

2.  Refuge by Anne Booth or Flight by Nadia Wheatley. While these two stories appear to tell the story of the journey to Bethlehem they also allow the reader to broaden the concept of Mary and Joseph's journey to encompass the plights of refugees in their journey in search of a safe place.

3. The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie DePaola. I have included this as a folktale that explains why poinsettias are part of the Christmas tradition. If you can't find this, look for Cobweb Christmas  by Shirley Climo or  The Spider's Gift by Eric Kimmel  which are folktales explaining why we have tinsel on trees.

4. The Christmas Caravan by Jennifer Beck is a lovely story about Simon who wants to enter a competition. This gives you many opportunities to discuss competitions, decorating homes at Christmas and what is required to really appreciate Christmas. It also looks at Southern hemisphere Christmas traditions. Perhaps pair it with The Boxing Day Test by Sharon Willis.

5. Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost and Susan Jeffers. While strictly speaking it is not a Christmas story it has snow and Susan Jeffers has used touches of red and green with the black and white of night and snow to evoke a very special setting in New England in Winter, when it is Christmas. The vellum cover on the book adds to the mystery and gives it the feeling of a present.

6. Silent Night  by Lara Hawthorne is a new book that brings this beautiful carol by Joseph Mohr to life by featuring the world's diversity as it moves through the lyrics. There are other versions though which highlight the origins of the carol. See Silent Night Holy Night which has beautiful Robert Ingpen illustrations and Silent Night which has Susan Jeffers' illustrations.

7. The Story Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden. This story can just be read from the novel version, but I love the picture book edition illustrated by Barbara Cooney. I serialise it with my year 1 classes and right from the first sentence, 'This is a story about wishing.' they are hooked.

8. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski and P.J Lynch is another picture book which draws readers in, allows them to empathise with the characters and be surprised by the ending. The students love the foreshadowing and the lightening of the illustrations as the story progresses and Jonathan's demeanour changes.

9. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston and Barbara Cooney. I usually read this book to Year 2 in the week of  Remembrance Day in November. This makes the discussion of World War 1 and Ruthie's father's absence very pertinent. This is the nativity play story for older students. They revisit their nativity plays, the standing on chairs and the carol singing.

10. In Flander's Fields by Brian Harrison-Lever  and Norman Jorgenson tells the story of Christmas in the trenches during World War 1 when the fighting stopped, a robin is rescued and the soldiers sing Silent Night in English and German.


11. Fair's Fair  by Leon Garfield. This short chapter book has been published in many formats and with various illustrations. If you can't find the picture book version illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain read it to students without pictures and make them visualise for themselves because hers are so evocative that the rest pale to not be worth sharing.  This story about Jackson, an orphan is set in Victorian times and is told with such suspense that it is a bit scary but the ending is just what student readers require. A good friend found me a new copy of this at the Lifeline Book Fair, so you too could be lucky.

12. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and Quentin Blake. I recommend this to parents of avid readers because when they share it their children make comparisons with Fair's Fair and other books they have read at school and they bring it back saying what great discussions the family had. I grew up with this story as my father had a record of someone reading it that we listened to every Christmas.

Others not to be missed:
Coming Home by Michael Morpurgo; The Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg; Manger by Lee Bennett Hopkins; and Cat on the Hill by Michael Foreman.

Merry Christmas and happy reading.

24th December Christmas Truce

Given the events of late in Sydney, the fact that I am on school holidays and my family are home for Christmas I have spent time recently thinking about what parents have told their young children about
the grim events in the news. At school I try to share tough events through literature that we can discuss at their level. I want them to experience discomfit but within a safe, scaffolded situation that they experience vicariously and where they get to empathise but also to ask questions. This helps then when an unpleasant event or experience is closer to home because they have some schema to fall back upon.

Then this morning I was thinking about Christmas stories and browsing through my Christmas picture book pinterest list,  I saw In Flanders Fields and thought of how a positive experience occurs amongst the grimness of World War 1 in the name of Christmas. A truce is called to the fighting, the singing of carols unites the warring troops and a time of reflection ensues. Similarly there has been an outpouring of goodwill among the people in Sydney and the flowers in Martin Place have allowed a time of reflection and the chance to think about what really matters to each of us.

In the year to come as we mark the 100th anniversary of the start of WW1 it is nice to know that for at least a short time, it really was all quiet on the Western Front. I have read this story to my Year 2 children at Christmas and this year I also read them The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree on Remembrance Day because of its reference to this day. The students asked lots of questions, queried why it had taken Ruthie's father so long to come home after the armistice and made connections between this and other books we had read. This is the power of good children's books.

Now there are quite a few titles about the truce and all have good points, but the Jorgensen one works for me because the children relate to the hurt robin and his need of rescue, the black and white illustrations have a subtlety that removes the graphic horror of war and it is just the right length to read in one sitting, but by all means check out the others so you can match your students with the 'right' book.

• In Flanders Fields by Norman Jorgensen
• Shooting at the Stars  by John Hendrix
• Christmas Truce by Aaron Shepard
• War Game by Michael Foreman
• Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting by Jim Murphy
• Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon 
• The Christmas Truce by Carol Ann Duffy
• The Christmas Truce: the Place Where Peace was Found by Hilary Robinson

24th November Gloria Houston

It is Gloria Houston's birthday and she is the author responsible for one of my all time favourite children's books with a Christmas setting and it is that time of year again when I can enjoy reading it to and discussing it with classes. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree is set in Appalachia during World War I, a time and place that is quite foreign to my children in Australia but the task Ruthie performs leaves them awestruck and inspired. I have never had this story fail.

While on the topic of must-read Christmas books, here are other long picture books that I enjoy reading and the children sit transfixed for:

• Fair's Fair by Leon Garfield and Margaret Chamberlain (this edition is out of print but worth looking for in a library because its illustrations capture the time and mood of the story perfectly, in a way that later editions that look like small chapter books do not)

• The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden and Barbara Cooney

• The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola

6th August Barbara Cooney (1917 - 2000) Frank Asch (1946)

Barbara Cooney is a well known American author/illustrator who won the Caldecott Medal twice, for The Ox Cart Man and for Chanticleer and the Fox. My favourite of her books is The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree which was written by Gloria Houston and illustrated by Barbara. This book expresses the true sentiments of Christmas and puts it in a context quite foreign to the children I teach, but this does not matter, as the children sit spellbound through the reading, in awe of Ruthie's courage and quest to honour her family tradition. It is in the same must-read Christmas category as Susan Wojciechowski and P.J. Lynch's The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.

Frank Asch is 'famous' in my library for his series of books about Moonbear. (See Happy Birthday Moon among others). They are perfect for 3 to 6 year olds. He has big ideas, adventures and a friend, all the things children of that age want. Of course he has written and illustrated other books, but it is hard to go past these beauties. The stories are on Youtube and his website has activities to keep children busy. Once you have exhausted Moonbear, read his books about the sun, water and wind: The Sun is my Favourite Star; Water; and Like a Windy Day.