Holiday Treasures

by Freda Nobbs

’Tis the season once again. This year, my family and I promised each other, we’d make it simpler, more meaningful, less chaotic. Somehow that looked a lot easier to do a few months ago. Now that the holiday pace has picked up it’s easy to get carried away and end up spending too much time at the mall.

One way to slow down and enjoy the simpler pleasures of the season is to share a holiday story or two with those you love. There are some lovely new seasonal books—along with the wonderful familiar ones—to savour during the holidays.

Merry Christmas: A Canadian Keepsake Collection (Scholastic, 2009) is a great place to begin. It contains five holiday stories by some of Canada’s favourite authors and illustrators: The Little Crooked Christmas Tree by Michael Cutting and Ron Broda; Moon and Star by Robin Muller; Sadie Ballerina by Joan Betty Stuchner and Bruno St-Aubin; One Special Star by Olena Kassian; and, my favourite, Woodland Christmas: Twelve Days of Christmas in the North Woods by Frances Tyrrell. Along with the stories, the edition contains information about the artists and illustrators, and vignettes about how the stories came to be. This is a special treasury to share with young ones, and a great gift idea.

For those who wonder about Santa’s Christmas preparations, there is Lauren Thompson’s The Christmas Magic (Scholastic, 2009), beautifully illustrated by Jon J. Muth. Thompson imbues Santa’s simple, homely chores with Christmas enchantment—the magical tingle of Santa’s beard lets him know when it’s time to prepare for his journey, which he does, feeding the reindeer their special meal of parsnips and cranberries, darning his socks and shining up his sled. Using pastels and watercolours, Muth has created a soft, wintry blue and white world, at the heart of which is his lovely Santa, somewhat wizardly, yet warmly familiar (I love Santa’s bunny slippers!). And if you look closely you’ll see Stillwater, the panda from Muth’s own picture book Zen Shorts, in Santa’s toy room. Thompson’s Santa does everything with great care and attention, a gentle reminder of the pleasure that comes with enjoying each moment of the season.

A little happy nonsense is part of Noel too, as Bud Davidge’s The Mummer’s Song (Groundwood Books, 2009) attests. On a cold winter’s night, a grandmother is telling her grandson that Christmas is just not the same without a visit from the mummers when they appear at the door. With delight the old woman invites them into the kitchen and the zany party begins. Costumed, disguised neighbours cavort around the room, dancing, singing and altogether enjoying themselves. Ian Wallace’s illustrations capture the delight and chaos of this rural Newfoundland tradition, and the accompanying CD allows readers to join in, at least in the singing part. Fans of Sendak will like this one.

It’s far too easy to get caught up in the spending spree that occurs at this time of year, and for kids from nine to 12, Thomas King’s A Coyote Solstice Tale (Groundwood Books, 2009) offers a slightly different and very funny take on the consumer aspect of the season. Trickster Coyote is entertaining his woodland friends when a little girl drops by and leads them all off to the mall, where Coyote gets caught up in the joys of a consumer Christmas… until it comes time to pay. As always, King’s humour is understated and (pardon the expression) right on the money. Gary Clement’s artwork contributes to the fun.

One of the gifts of the season is the opportunity to share timeless stories with those we love. The wonderful Margaret Wise Brown, who gave us Goodnight Moon, also gave us the Christmas story The Little Fir Tree (HarperCollins, 2005). A little tree stands apart from the other trees, until one day it is brought into the home of a sick little boy and becomes part of something very special. Threaded throughout with Brown’s poetic descriptions and Jim La Marche’s warm illustrations, the tale has a happy ending but nevertheless, sentimental readers might want to have tissues at hand.

I can’t put a Christmas book list together without mentioning Dylan Thomas’ modern classic A Child’s Christmas in Wales (New Directions, 2007). Thomas’ beautiful prose is a delight, evoking Christmases past, and somehow capturing the indefinable essence of the season. Even if you don’t read it to the kids, read it to yourself.

Freda Nobbs is a writer, editor and children’s literature consultant who believes that the right book in the right hands changes the world, one person at a time. You can reach her at fenobbs@shaw.ca.