With 2011 coming to a close, and 2012 just hours away, the ReaderKidZ wish all our readers a Happy New Year full of peace, joy and books, books, books!
Great Joy!
Joy and holiday wishes to you and yours from all the ReaderKidZ!
We’ll see you here again in the New Year.
– Ann, Debbie, Dianne, Nancy, Stephanie, Jeanette, and Kristen
Gifts and Christmas Joy
Although our ReaderKidZ giveaways officially ended two days ago, there are still a few shopping days left before Christmas, which means that many of us can be found browsing bookstores for last minute gifts. After all, good books are wonderful presents any time of year. And is there anything better than cuddling up with a child in these sometimes busy days before Christmas? Truth be told, it’s oftentimes exactly those special, quiet moments of sharing a book that serve to remind us all to slow down and enjoy the important things – time together, our faith, and the gifts of the season.
THE THIRD GIFT by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
“My father collects tears. That is what they are called: the pearls of sap that seep out of a tree…”
The tears of sap are what we know as myrrh, a plant native to the Arabian Peninsula, and one of the gifts brought by the Wise Men to the young Christ Child. I’d known the story of how, in earlier times, myrrh was used primarily as an embalming oil and understood the significance this unusual gift held as it foreshadowed what would become of the babe in a manger born to be Savior. But here, the story is told from the point of view of another young child, ordinary in every way, but extraordinary in that he is the one who harvests the large tear of myrrh which is later sold in the marketplace. The myrrh which makes its way on the back of a camel, across the desert with the Magi, to a place lighted beneath a faraway star.
In her author’s note, Linda Sue Park writes: “I love thinking about the roles of ordinary people in history’s great events… We are as much a part of it as those whose names dominate the headlines.”
This beautiful book, with extraordinary illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline, brings together historical and Biblical references to weave a story in which the ordinary and extraordinary intersect.
ONE STARRY NIGHT by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Jonathan Bean.
Both a tender recounting of the Christmas story and a gentle reminder, told in two voices, of the sweetness of a mother’s love for her young child, this short picture book poem with striking illustrations by Jonathan Bean, is a book readers will agree captures the warmth and depth of the season.
A CHRISTMAS TREE FOR PYN by Olivier Dunrea
Young Pyn has her heart set on decorating the perfect Christmas tree – her first! But her father, the well-meaning but rather gruff bear of a man, Oother, can’t be bothered with such sentimentality. And while Oother loves Pyn very much, he can’t quite soften up enough to change his bristly ways.
But Oother can’t stay loud and gruff forever, and Pyn, cheery and soft-spoken as she is, eventually brings Christmas joy and the true spirit of the holiday back into both of their lives.
The Story of Holly and Ivy
Books help children grow. They can be the quiet place in a storm; an introduction to a friend who feels the same way they do; a blueprint for how to deal with problems they feel no one else in the world can possibly understand. The books of Rumer Godden are why I became a children’s book writer: they taught me an understanding of the power and comfort of books that became part of my nature.
I thought I’d read all of Godden’s books, so I’m not sure how I missed the two here. I would have adored THE STORY OF HOLLY & IVY (Puffin 2010) as a child. In this newest edition illustrated by Barbara Cooney, it carries the kind of classic emotional power of all of Godden’s books.
“This is a story about wishing. It is also about a doll and a little girl. It begins with the doll.”
It’s about a doll who is left alone in a toy shop window on Christmas Eve “dressed for Christmas in a red dress, and red shoes, though her petticoat and socks were green,” and who longs to be held by a child’s hands. It’s about a little girl of six, who lives in an orphanage and longs, so much, to find a home for Christmas that she runs away to find a grandmother who doesn’t exist. It’s about a lonely young policeman’s wife who has no children, but who sees a doll in the window of a store and feels stirrings of a feeling she has not had for a long time, “a feeling of Christmas.”
How these three find one another on a snowy Christmas Eve is a read-aloud story children will remember all their lives. Reminiscent of The Little Match Girl for its pathos and understanding of the sometimes perilous lives children lead, this story ends happily because the doll, and the little girl, and the young wife all understand the power of wishing.
“If I had not wished,” says Holly at the end.
Young readers will be glad she did.
* * * * *
I suspect I overlooked THE GYPSY GIRL because it was originally published with the 
title DIDDAKOI. That would have meant nothing to me and, as I well know now, children will over-look a book for any tiny reason. But I would have loved this book, too.
“I know a bit about being homeless,” one of the adult characters in it says. That’s what eight-year-old Kizzy Lovell is dealing with. She’s a gypsy, as she would proudly call herself; or a “Diddakoi” as the cruel children at the English village school she’s forced to attend, taunt her. Or a “traveler” as the understanding woman who takes Kizzy in, rightly says.
When we first meet Kizzy, she has never gone to school. Never had toys. Wears gold rings in her ears and fury in her dark eyes. All she has is herself and her fierce independence after her Gran’s wagon burns and Kizzy is left without a home. All she has is Joe, her beloved horse. And then Joe dies, too, but Kizzy’s not about to give up. And she will never conform. Small wonder, the girls in school gang up on her.
It’s the way in which Kizzy stands up to them, all twelve of the horrid things, cruel in the way that nice girls can become when they’re in a gang, that make this book so full of emotion. In this day and age, when so many children find themselves living in difficult situations, and more than thirty years after it was first published, this classic story of one girl’s courage to stay true to herself will resonate with young readers.
Oh, and grown-ups will love it, too. I promise. (Ages 8 and up)
ReaderKidZ Holiday Countdown – Day 14
Today, our final day of giveaways, we have two more gifts for visitors to ReaderKidZ! The first is a free book app download for iphone and ipad users (courtesy of Ruckus Media Group) of the classic children’s story, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, written by Margery Williams, illustrated by David Jorgensen, and told by Meryl Streep. Click HERE to access this timeless story for FREE until Christmas Day.
The second is a middle grade book recommendation which captures the spirit of the season.
SEASON OF GIFTS by Richard Peck (Dial 2009)
It’s 1958 and the new preacher and his family—including Bobby, the eleven year-old narrator, seven year-old Ruth Ann, and high school freshman and Elvis-fan Phyllis—move in next door to Grandma Dowdel. She’s “older than dirt.” Bobby notes of her, “She was not only real cranky, but well-armed.” For a woman who “doesn’t neighbor,” Mrs. Dowdel helps each member of the struggling Barnhart family in significant ways through the holiday season. She gives anonymously, with no hesitation, from the heart, to those in need, with no expectation of reward, and plots and executes brilliantly. Yes, Grandma Dowdel steals from other people’s gardens and plays all the small town’s comic residents off each other mercilessly, but her heart of gold shines bright.
ReaderKidZ Holiday Countdown – Day 13
Our Holiday Countdown is nearly to an end. What fun it has been to send to readers many of our favorite books and art. Soon our holiday attentions will turn to the New Year.
NAVAJO YEAR, WALK THROUGH MANY SEASONS invites you to step into contemporary Navajo life in the desert.
For the Navajo people, the traditional new year begins in October, Ghaaji’, when “Yellow summer meets white winter. Summer stops, goes back. Winter continues on. Ghaaji’ A new year begins.”
NAVAJO YEAR, WALK THROUGH MANY SEASONS highlights the games and activities of children during each season of the Navajo year. In November, listen to stories and watch string games. In July get ready for rodeo and pow-wows. During each season, watch out for that old trickster Coyote. His stomach is empty and growling, ready to be filled with a few tasty desert treats.
Billy Whitethorne, illustrator, brings to the page the landscape of the high desert and Red Rock Colorado Plateau. Art has always been a passion in Billy Whitethorne’s life. He would properly introduce himself by stating his clans: he belongs to the Lók’aa’ dine’é (Reed People) and is born for the Hashk’àà hadzohí (Yucca Fruit). Billy includes surprises in his paintings, including hidden pictures.
For a chance to receive this book, please click HERE to email your name and address to Nancy Bo Flood with ReaderKidZ Book Offer in the subject line.
A very happy New Year to all! Nancy Bo Flood
ReaderKidZ Holiday Countdown – Day 12
Sign up to win a copy of one of the most imaginative, competitive, and off-the-wall delightful picture books of all time – Shark vs. Train – written by award-winning Chris Barton and illustrated by show-stopping Tom Lichtenheld.
The result of Chris and Tom’s collaborative efforts is a celebration of the creative spontaneity of a child’s mind while satisfying the adult reader’s taste for dry-witted humor. The cataclysmic action scenes are packed with tiny treasures such as a reticent caboose or ineffective score-keeping grown-ups. Chris’ clever words keep you reading. Tom’s fascinating drawings keep you looking. In short, Shark vs. Train is simply a timeless train-wreck of great fun!
Who’s the victor, you ask? Shark or Train? If you’re really lucky, you’ll be the winner in this ReaderKidZ’s Shark vs. Train giveaway and can keep score for yourself!
For an opportunity to win, access the Get on Board section of Chris’ website, enter an email in the space provided, and hopefully, a copy of the book will be chugrr-chug-chugging your way.
