Glad & Golden Hour by Lanier Ivester illustrated by Jennifer Trafton*

 Christmas in July!

I heard this book advertised on several podcasts before 2024 Christmas. How excited I was to discover that a library in my county had purchased the book!

My initial goal in reading the book was to establish a list of  new, meaningful ideas to celebrate Christ at Christmas. I, however, found the ideas a bit too fancy and time-consuming for my current stage in life (plus, I am the only female in the house . . .my attempts to mimic her ideas may not be appreciated nor tolerated!!!😉😁). Instead, I relished in the beautiful writing, the word choice, her stories, and book lists-of course!! (The book lists contain titles that I long to read--older stories. Most of the titles are available via ILL. I am tempted to purchase several and read aloud to my teenage boys.) Setting up an advent wreath with real candles (although not novel) is one idea I would like to implement in Christmas 2025. 

Mrs. Ivester shares magical Christmas stories and traditions from her childhood and as a newly married plus heart-breaking stories about her sorrow over infertility, a house fire, and the deaths of parents. She embraces the loveliness of the season but does not ignore the sadness that naturally occurs in this life. 

Ms. Trafton's illustrations are beautiful. I, however, would have liked to see actual photos of Ruff House festooned in its Christmas glory.

*Highy recommend (for reasons above).

-Borrowed from the library.

Celebrate! Stories of the Jewish Holidays by Gilda Berger illustrated by Peter Catalanotto*

 Recently my library displayed some Jewish history and celebration books. This one caught my attention. How I wished I had known about it when we studied ancient history. Ms. Berger explains the major Jewish holidays by sharing the traditional stories, what they celebrate, how they celebrate, and craft and food ideas. 

If you are from a Christian background, the stories vary a bit from Christian scriptures. The differences would create an opportunity for discussion.

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Anne of Green Gables mania

 Reading aloud The Story Girl, watching The Road to Avonlea, and ordering The Golden Road (sequel to The Story Girl), I decided to read a few books about the author and the beloved P.E.I.

1. The Anne of Green Gables Christmas Treasury by Carolyn Strom Collins & Christina Wyss Eriksson (I thought it was a collection of stories about Anne at Christmas. It is not!)-a collection of a decorations, crafts, ideas and recipes featured/mentioned in Anne of Green Gables. Quite a few sewing projects. I just glanced through this one.

2. The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables by Catherine Reid    This book showcases the breath-taking scenery of Prince Edward Island via photographs. The text relates more about L.M. Montgomery's life and how much she loved the island. I am currently reading this one. 

3. Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter & Me by Lorilee Craker -A Memoir  I just finished this interesting book. Mrs. Craker relates her own adoption and discovery of her biological parents and then the adoption of her own daughter, Phoebe from Korea. She incorporates excerpts and scenes from the Anne books as she processes heartache, disappointment and confusion. Impressive how she integrates so many facets-her adoption, her daughter's adoption, Anne, travels to P.E.I. and research of L.M. Montgomery. Mrs.Craker seems to be a Christian. She mentions God and His faithful presence in all of her life stages. 

-I borrowed all three of these books from the library.

Hex Signs text set

To support our study of colonial Pennsylvania, we read parts of some books about hex signs.  The following books are for adults, but can be useful for building schema.

 #1 Hexology by Jacob and Jane Zook


#2 Hex Signs by Don Yoder and Thomas E. Graves


#3 Hex Signs by Ivan E. Hoyt **(I really liked this one because it shows readers how to create the designs step by step and also shares tips and what tools are needed.)

Hands-on History Ancient Chinese by Joe Fullman

Dress, Eat, Write, and Play Just Like the Chinese
Fascinating facts about Ancient China paired with simple yet cool crafts.
-Borrowed from the library.

Crafts from the Past The Ancient Chinese by Jessica Goth

Lots of information about the Ancient China plus fun crafts to make along with the topic.
-Borrowed from the library.

Famous Figures of Ancient Times by Cathy Diez-Luckie*

Movable Paper Figures to Cut, Color and Assemble
Background about all the figures is provided in the front.  Already colored pieces are provided along with white outlines for those who enjoy coloring.
Directions how to assemble the figures is provided.  My boys were able assemble them fine.  My eight year old had some difficulty inserting the brads (but I had copied the figures on cardstock so they weren't on the manufacturer's paper.)
In this set, the following people are represented:
1. Narmer
2. Khufu
3. Sargon the Great
4. Hammurabi
5. Moses
6. King David
7. Ashurbanipal
8. Nebuchadnezzar II
9. Cyrus the Great
10. a Greek hoplite
11. Qin Shi Huangdi
12. Aristotle
13. Alexander the Great
14. Hannibal and his elephant (2 separate pieces)
15. Julius Caesar
16. Caesar Augustus
17. Jesus
18. Constantine
19. Augstine
*Borrowed from the library (Interlibrary Loan-local county did not own it).

Pyramids 50 Hands-On Activities to Experience Ancient Egypt by Avery Hart and Paul Mantell*

Tons of fun activities and interesting facts/tidbits about Ancient Egypt!
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.

David Kirk's Nova the Robot Builds a Friend by David Kirk*

This is a great interactive book.  The reader has to select the correct shape on each page to build Nova's new friend.
A perfect book to use on a flannel board for story time-just make the corresponding shapes from felt.
A good one to share when reinforcing shapes and color.
Wish the library had a big book version.
*Highly recommend.

My Robot by Eve Bunting illustrated by Dagmar Fehlau

a Green Light Readers book-Level 2 (reading with help)
The main character shares all the ways his robot, Cecil, can help him.  The refrain "is not the best thing my robot can do" is repeated throughout leaving the reader wondering, "What is the best thing this robot can do?" which is shared on the last page.
An activity/craft to make own robot at the end.

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw*

Various shapes clouds can be.
Repetitive sentences so fun to share with a group and have them call out what shape it is.
*Highly recommend.
Fun craft: fold blue construction paper in half.  Lay flat. Around and  on the crease dribble white paint.  Then child folds it, squishing the paint to create their own cloud.  Then they can state what it is and label it.

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

Vashti's art class frustrated her until her teacher honored her dot picture.  Her teacher's encouragement inspired her to be creative with lots of dot pictures.  In the end she passed on the encouragement to a younger boy and his squiggle.
Craft idea- make pictures using just dots and/or squiggles  (use the end of a pencil eraser in different color stamp pads or Do A Dot markers-my boys just wanted to paint!).

Older students:
Strategy-author's purpose/message, determining importance

One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham illustrated by Richard Jesse Watson*

I highly recommend this book for any family who wants to keep Christ the center of Christmas.
Zeb is caught in a snow storm and spends a few days in woman's house in the mountains. As he waits out the storm, the woman tells him the story of Christmas starting at the creation of the world until Christ's resurrection.  Love how this book reveals how God has always wanted a relationship with us and was always working out a way to have that relationship.  The entire Bible points to Christ.

**The illustrations by Mr. Watson are exquisite.  I read somewhere that it took him a few years to complete the illustrations for this book.

Each night a couple weeks before Christmas we read a chapter.  I made felt ornaments that correspond to the chapter and hide them for the boys.  The boys find them and hang them on a small tree.

One Baby Jesus A New Twelve Days of Christmas by Patricia A. Pingry illustrated by Wendy Edelson

A fun version of the traditional song to focus it on Christ and His birth.
Would be fun to print out pictures of each of the objects/people shown in here and print on card stock.  Then hold up and sing along!

The Mitten adapted and illustrated by Jan Brett *

Ms. Brett's borders lend themselves to predicting.
Check out her website for a mitten craft to make after reading this story.
Read this one and another version of the Ukrainian folktale and discuss similarities/differences.
*Highly recommend.
Strategies/skills: venn diagram, predicting

A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman illustrated by Jeff Shelly

The people in Squawk Valley have a huge problem this Thanksgiving-no turkeys are in sight.  So they advertise for a "plump and perky" turkey to be a model for their local arts and crafts fair.  A turkey volunteers but will he outsmart them and make them eat shredded wheat on Thanksgiving Day?

When I taught third grade, our team read this book aloud and then each student had to create a plump and perky turkey to display.  They could use any material just as long as it was in the shape of a turkey!  We had our own turkey arts and craft contest.