Our Favorite Christmas Books

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

illustrated by Susan Jeffers

The Legend of the Candy Cane

Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend

by Julie Stiegemeyer

OR

The Secret of St. Nicholas

by Ellen Nibali

A New Coat for Anna 

by Harriet Ziefert

This classic tale of redemption needs no explanation. I highly recommend it for big kids.

The Little Fir Tree

by Margaret Wise Brown

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

by Susan Woiciechowski

When a widow asks the town hermit to carve a nativity set for her son, a new friendship is slowly formed and a man gets a reminder of joy. We always follow up the book with the movie. Love both.

Christmas in the Barn

by Margaret Wise Brown

One Wintry Night

by Ruth Bell Graham

This is the Star

by Joyce Dunbar

Christmas Tapestry

by Patricia Polacco

The Donkey's Dream

by Barbara Helen Berger

Stop What You're Doing

. . . and go right now to your local library and get this book:

It is fantastic! This book, full of very fun onomatopoeia and plot surprises, was written by the author of other classics I'm sure you know: Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings.

You'll love it!

Free Books

Instead of buying books, trade them! For every book you ship, you get to pick a book for free. I have a long wish list, so any time one of my wishes becomes available, Paperback Swap will automatically ship it to me. WooHoo!

Another way to get free books is by reviewing them. With BookSneeze, you sign up to review a new book, and then you get to keep it.

I love FREE!

Book Review: To Be Perfectly Honest

I received this book from Multnomah Publishing for my honest review.

I really try to be discerning in selecting books to review. I don't enjoy giving a lot of negative book reviews, although I do see purpose in reviewing books biblically. Phil Callaway is an author I hadn't heard of before, so I looked up some videos of him. He has a sense of humor but also seemed sincere in his faith.

This book was disappointing and frustrating. First off, the title is very misleading. The subtitle says: One man's year of living truthfully could change your life. No lie.

The concept of the book is to see what would happen if a Christian decided not to tell a lie for a whole year. This book seems to have very little to do with that goal. It's more of a day-to-day journal of a professing Christian; what he thinks and how he lives. Quite a bit of it seems to be made up for the purpose of humor, and plenty of lies are told-- some brought repentance, but most seemed to just bring jokes.

Based on the author's admissions in the book, I had a very hard time believing his faith to be real. 1 John (the book written so we may have assurance of salvation) makes it clear that true believers love being with the brethren, but Mr. Callaway frequently jokes about how little he enjoys being in church; saying there are a million things he'd rather be doing. 1 John also makes it plain that true believers love and hunger for God's Word, but when Mr. Callaway reads the Bible, his wife asks what's wrong because he only reads it when something is wrong.

Mr. Callaway pretends to be deaf to avoid a discussion with a Mormon; he has frequent conversations with an Atheist, none of them including the gospel; and ditto that for his agnostic friend. How can a believer in Christ know that someone is deserving of eternal punishment and not share the Good News with them? Not only did he not share the gospel with his unbelieving friends; he never seemed broken over their spiritual state or sad at his lost opportunities. That saddened me to the core.

I was hoping that at some point the author would realize that this exercise in truth-telling was pointless, because as sinners, we are all too depraved to be able to tell the truth perfectly even for a month. If we could just decide not to sin, for any length of time, we wouldn't need Christ at all! And in our depraved state, we desperately do. We are all deserving of hell for the sins we commit against a holy God. And we all need Him in order to do anything with virtue.

Book Review: Attack at the Arena (Imagination Station)

We are big fans of Adventures in Odyssey audio dramas, so I was excited to get this book for the kiddos. We all loved it. It has all the drama and intrigue we love in Adventures in Odyssey and the Christian integrity we trust. Attack at the Arena is the second book in the Imagination Station series, this historical ficton takes place in Rome. This is an a chapter book for 2nd-4th graders, but would also make fun family read-aloud.

Book Review: Bad Girls of the Bible

After reading the description of this book, I looked forward to learning more about the women of the Bible and learning from the bad choices they made. Anytime I can, I prefer to learn from the sins and mistakes of others, rather than making those mistakes myself. ;)

Even though all the women in the book were sinners (we're all sinners), some of them had a track record for evil choices, and some of them just committed one really big, really bad sin. Some of them were saved and others never repented.

Each chapter covers one woman and begins with a modern day retelling of her story. I enjoyed these as they made me realize how timeless their stories were. Sin doesn't change from one century to another. But these chapters are not Bible studies. They are more like fictional retelling of the Bible stories. I'm not convinced that's a good thing. There seems to be an awful lot of speculation.

For instance, in the chapter about Potiphar's Wife, the author says: "Adultery was a major no-no in ancient days. . ." Um, actually it's still a major no-no. As a matter of fact, the 7th commandment is God saying so. The author goes on to say, "For Joseph, it went deeper than that. He saw it as a sin against his God." Again, are we reading the same Bible? Adultery is a sin against God. I really didn't understand the author's choice of words here.

If you're looking for a fiction book about the Bible, this is a good choice. If you're looking for a devotional, you'll find this sorely lacking in depth.

I received this book from WaterBrook Press for my honest review.

Book Review: God Gave Us So Much

I just received this treasury of the God Gave Us series and I was so excited to read it with my kids, who just loved the God Gave Us the World book. It, along with two others: God Gave Us Love, and God Gave Us Heaven were included in this hardback treasury (complete with ribbon bookmark I might add.)

We enjoyed God Gave Us Love and were again delighted with the adorable illustrations of the bear family as they learn how to love as God loved. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed in the last book God Gave Us Heaven. It starts with the parents explaining to their children what heaven is and how wonderful God made it and it's all fun and cupcakes and parties. I would have no problem with this if the children were believers, but it is made clear that this is a reward they have to look forward to when they one day become Christians. This is no way to share the gospel. Who wouldn't want salvation when heaven is described in such a way? Children need to first understand their sin and God's law. Salvation is meaningless otherwise. Sin, as it turns out, is never mentioned. Instead, the author says that "our bad choices might keep us from him forever". Might? The bible isn't so ambiguous. And nowhere in the bible are our sins referred to as bad choices. Making a right turn in a left lane is a bad choice. Nobody earns hell for that. Lying is a sin, not a bad choice. Cheating is a sin, not a bad choice. This one book, God Gave Us Heaven, ruined the treasury for me. The theology is so bad; it's the one bad apple that ruined the whole bunch.

Book Review: Slave

I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review.

I jumped at the chance to get the new John MacArthur book and I was not disappointed. "Slave" is an enlightening treasure, making sense of our relationship to Christ. John MacArthur discovered through study that most modern translations of the Bible, KJV included, use the word "servant" in place of "slave", entirely altering the meaning of the text. Before we come to Christ, we aren't servants of sin, we are slaves to it. When Christ saves us, we become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:16-20) We belong to Christ and as such, we lovingly submit to Him as Master.

Our status as slaves, and not merely servants, has serious implications for how we think and act as believers. He has exclusive ownership and we are completely dependent on Him and accountable to Him. Unlike worldly masters, Jesus supplies all our needs, strengthens us to do His will, and gives us grace, sufficient to accomplish His purposes.

I was so blessed by all that I learned through this book. MacArthur brings all the scriptures together in one place to explain our true identity in Christ. He starts and ends with scripture; rather than making his point and taking scripture out of context to back him up. This book is solid.

Book Review: Changed By Faith

From the description of this book, I was really looking forward to it. And I was really disappointed. In the very first chapter, Mr. Palau's unbiblical theology is revealed. He talked about a 13 year old girl who came forward at one of his meetings, lonely and hurt. He asked her if she wanted more for her life and explained that God had a wonderful plan just for her. He proceeded to lead her in the sinner's prayer. He offered her a cure without ever explaining her disease. It was never explained to her that she was a sinner condemned to hell. It was never explained to her that she deserved God's punishment for breaking His holy law. She was just offered grace. Grace, which is meaningless apart from an understanding of what we truly deserve. I was crushed. This is the very reason so many "try out" God and then abandon their faith when life gets hard. Life in Christ is full of peace and joy, yes, but it is harder, not easier than a life of sin. It's easy to go with the flow, living in and loving sin. It's hard to fight against the current of the world and live for Christ.

Luis Palau preaches an unbiblical gospel. Please do not get this book for yourself or anyone you know.

Todd Friel, host of Wretched TV, confronted Mr. Palau at one of his evangelistic mega-events. Here's what he had to say:

I suggested he was giving the cure without explaining the disease of sin. Mr. Palau informed me that everyone has an overwhelming burden of guilt and it is not necessary for him to preach about their need for forgiveness.
Suspecting he might say that, I handed him a c.d. with a montage of people we interviewed on the street. We asked strangers, "Do you have an overwhelming burden of guilt?" The responses ranged from condescending disdain to outright laughter.

Mr. Palau ultimately patted me on the head and said, "Be careful that you don't fall into that Lordship salvation trap. Christians can be carnal."

That's not true!! You CAN NOT live like the world and still be a Christian. If you have been taught this deception, please, please go read 1 John.

Book Review: God Gave Us the World

I received this book from Multnomah Publishing for my honest review.

We all loved this book, mom and dad included. God Gave Us the World is a sweet book about a little cub who learns that not all bears are Polar Bears, they don't all eat the same food, look the same, or live in the same climate. His world grows as he learns about the creativity of his creator. I love the charming illustrations in this book. The mama bear speaks affectionately to her little cub, explaining to him about the God who loves him and created a whole world displaying His majesty and creativity. This is a new family favorite, especially for my little ones.

Teaching Children to Love Reading - School Age

When children get to school age, there's a temptation to ask them lots of questions about the book they're reading. DON'T DO IT! School teachers ask kids: Who's the main character? What was the setting? etc ad nauseum because they have no idea if little Miranda actually read the book or not. They have to ask these questions to make sure the child is actually reading the book assigned. That said, it does kill the love of reading.

You are home with your child, watching them walk up the stairs reading the book, watching them bury their nose in the book while they eat their snack, etc. You know they are reading it. Don't kill their love of reading by making them analyze the book. Let them develop a relationship with the book. This is how you teach your child to love reading.

Book Review: Unplanned

I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review.

I learned so much from this book and I couldn't put it down. I was totally enraptured learning how this girl raised in a pro-life family was persuaded to volunteer for Planned Parenthood and eventually worked her way up to clinic director. The whole time, Abby Johnson, tells her story from her perspective at the time. Because her parents were pro-life, but never talked much about it at home, she grew up not able to defend her supposed pro-life stance. Thus, she was easily talked into the volunteer position. She was told that Planned Parenthood's goal has always been to make abortions rare. Because she firmly believed what she was told, she never questioned the abortions that happened every week.

She truly believed that she was caring for and helping women. It's what made her so passionate about her job with Planned Parenthood for the eight years she worked there. She was deceived. And she deceived many women as a result.

It wasn't until the day she was asked to assist with a sonogram-guided abortion, that she realized the truth. That day, she left her clinic and went straight to the Coalition for Life, the pro-life group right down the street. She switched sides. Her eyes were opened to the awful truth of what she had participated in and she switched sides. Her story is amazing.

Book Review: Radical

I received this book from Multnomah Publishing for my honest review. I was so impressed with this book. From the start, I was expecting a "Get up off your duff and do something for God" message, but I was so mistaken. The message of Radical is much more and much greater than that. It's not about missing out, it's about missing the point. We have so Americanized the gospel, it's not even recognizable biblically. The gospel of Christ isn't about repeating a simple prayer and getting your ticket to heaven. It's about salvation from the hell you and I deserve for all the words, deeds, and thoughts that violate God's standard. In light of the wrath and torture we've been saved from, our gratitude to a holy God leads us to live radically for him. Not spending a life filling our big houses with beautiful furniture and working hard saving up for a relaxing retirement, but living a sold-out life for the Jesus we love.

I was absolutely transformed by this little book. I strongly recommend it to every American.

Teaching Children to Love Reading - Preschoolers

Preschoolers who love books will soon love learning to read. If they love to read, they will love to learn.

In the preschool years, three types of books are very beneficial (and desirable at this age): wordless, predictable, and visual-puzzle books.

1. Wordless books, like Carl's Snowy Afternoon (and other Carl books), convey a story through pictures alone. Children learn the importance of sequence, as the order of the pictures is very important to the story line. They also learn the art of storytelling as their tale grows and changes as they study the book more.

2. Predictable books, like my favorite Henny Penny, are very helpful in building readers. Because they are so repetitive, the child can easily see what's coming and join in on the reading. Not only are these books fun for children, which increases their love of reading, they allow the child to experience success in "reading".

3. Pop-up books and visual-puzzle books, like the Where's Waldo? series, are enormously successful with young readers and pre-readers. These are the training wheels for future readers. They allow the child to have fun with a book, and that is a good thing!

Visual-puzzle books improve a child's attention span, recall, and visual discrimination-- all essential skills in reading.

Teaching Children to Love Reading - Babies & Toddlers

This is the start of a short & simple series I hope you'll enjoy. Raising children who love to learn is my academic goal for our homeschool. Notice I didn't say it was one of my academic goals. It is the academic goal for my children. If they love to learn, they can learn anything they want to learn. And loving to read develops a love of learning so we'll start there.

Babies and toddlers love rhythmic books, so we start with Mother Goose. Mother Goose rhymes have no plot, no story, so climax. They just rhyme. Rhyming teaches littles to love language.

There are gobs of Mother Goose treasuries to choose from, so pick the one with the illustrations you love.

Board books are another great way to teach littles to love books. It doesn't matter that they are chewing it more than looking at it. They're enjoying a book and that's the point.