Pretty Paper (And Good Reads)

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You know what happens when you write a blog post while listening to holiday music? Your blog posts have titles oddly reminescent of Christmas songs. Fortunately, I’m a scathingly brilliant writer so I can tie in those songs to what I want to share.

I just wrote a post (on my other blog) about the best children’s books from 2010. You can take a peek right here if you want a few good children’s reads. But that started me thinking about favorite holiday reads. I can name a ton of children’s books I love…How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Polar Express, and A Cajun Christmas come to mind first because the Junior Halls loved those boooks. And I loved reading them. Though I still get choked up, trying to get through The Polar Express. Seriously. I can get a little ferklampt watching The Grinch, too. Probably because that silly cartoon takes me back to my childhood, sitting in front of an old black and white TV, singing along (the wrong words, of course) when all the Whos join hands to celebrate Christmas.

I love that short story, The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. And there’s a few novels, though slender, that I’ll read almost every December: Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke and Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. Oh! And who doesn’t smile when reading the editor’s response to Virginia O’Hanlon’s question: Is there a Santa Claus? You can read what newsman Francis Pharcellus Church wrote here. And one of my favorite Christmas poems is called “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Christina Rossetti. You’ll recognize the last stanza, when you see the line, “What can I give him, poor as I am?”

And now, I know just what I want from you this Christmas! What’s your favorite holiday read? Children’s or adult, novel, short story, or poem…it doesn’t matter. And you know what else? You don’t even have to wrap it in pretty paper. Just leave a pretty, little comment.

(You were starting to wonder how I’d tie that song title in, weren’t you? Seriously? I was, too.)

Finding Holiday Fun (And a Few Books for You To Keep)

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You should probably know that I get a little crazy at Christmas. And that includes my blogs.

But honestly, this time around, I was just going to add snow falling on my blog. Easy as filling up the old stocking! But the snow didn’t look quite right on the original background. So I thought, hmmmm. I’ll just change my blog background.

But then I saw this new template with customizable headers. I LOVE customizable headers! So I changed my whole blog and added the Christmas pic. Easy as stringing popcorn. Then, whilst checking over the merry old blog, I noticed that eeek! I hadn’t changed my books in FOREVER! So I added a few Christmas favorite reads.

Which brings me to finding a few good books for you to read. At the end of the year, all kinds of folks share their “Best of…” lists. So, instead of racing around from one spot to the next, why not check these links for a few good lists of award-winning books from 2010? Because honestly, in another month, you’ll have to catch up on award-winning books of 2011.

Here’s the 2010 list of Books to Share and Read from the New York Public Library (if you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere).

And here’s the link to the Parents’ Choice Award Winners (Fiction) but you can look around and find picture books and non-fiction, too.

Here’s the School Library Journal’s list of Best Books 2010, Fiction (also look for picture books and non-fiction).

And here’s the Kirkus Review’s list of Best Children’s Books as well as the Kirkus Review’s list of Best Books for Teens. 

I’ve got some seriously fine reading ahead of me. And I’ll get to it, soon. As soon as I finish hanging candy canes all over the house. (P.S. What’s YOUR favorite read from 2010? I’d love to hear all about it!)