Imported from my now defunct book blog:
Every year at the beginning of advent I bring out the Christmas/winter themed books that have been carefully packed away for a year. They are well-loved friends, and a joy to revisit each season. Now that advent has begun, we will read a smattering of our books each week and add in a go-along activity whenever possible. For this week, we will be reading our collection of books about St. Nicholas, as his feast day falls on December 6th. I'll talk about those books a little bit here and post any activities we do on my other blog as we do them.
We'll start off by reading Country Angel Christmas by Tomie dePaola. This whimsical book focuses on the wonderful preparations that lead up to Christmas day. Here we find St. Nicholas in heaven providing guidance to the little country angels as they search for the perfect contribution to advent preparations. An idea from St. Nicholas provides what everyone has forgotten--starlight--as the angels pull a brilliant star across the sky and bring star candles for everyone to carry in the procession to the creche. The illustrations are classic dePaola folk-art style. We'll bake Stelline d'oro (Stars of gold) cookies after reading this one.
Tomorrow we'll read St. Nicholas by Ann Tompert. This one is beautifully illustrated and although it includes quite a bit of legend, the true story of his life and generosity are also made quite clear. A nice introduction to the life of this saint. We will be making ornaments to decorate Christmas trees that will be donated locally to families who might otherwise not have one.
Midweek we'll enjoy on of our very favorite stories The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria Whelan. This is a gorgeous story of the people in a small Russian village who come together to create their own "miracle". For the first time since communist soldiers closed it 60 years earlier, the villagers are able to worship together at St. Nicholas Church. We will try our hand at painting mini icons of St. Nicholas after this reading.
Finally, on the eve of December 6th, we will read The Baker's Dozen-A Saint Nicholas Tale retold by Aaron Shepard. This book is beautifully illustrated and gives a great lesson in generosity. It is the tale of an honest baker who takes great care to give his customers exactly what they pay for, no more and no less. St. Nicholas, cloaked as an old woman, pays a visit to the baker to show him that giving more of yourself can result in great rewards. We'll do some baking again after this book, and make speculatius (German spice cookies) in the shape of Bishop Nicholas himself-just like in the book!
The book we will read thoughout Advent, one chapter at a time, is The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean. Each chapter in this book is a short story explaining one of the symbols of the Jesse Tree.Clever tale of an instantly likable little boy and a gruff old woodworker.
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