It seemed like a nice plan. This year as we read through our Nativity books, I thought I would post reviews. Some of them would be reposts from previous years. Some would be new reviews. It didn't happen. Life is often like that. I've long since quit beating myself up for things like this. Lots of other good stuff happened in our family this Advent season. And lots of stuff didn't happen. And Christ was born anew in our hearts as we reflected on His birth in the cave. I've posted many reviews about some of our favorite Nativity books in the past. You can find them by clicking on the link at right for the posts tagged as "40 Books of Nativity." Or just click here. Since several people have emailed me and asked about other books, I'm posting some comments and links for some of our favorite new books here. Each year I try to give each boy a new Christmas book. Often St. Nicholas brings the books and leaves them in our stockings on December 6th. We've been doing this for quite a few years and so our collection is really growing. Sometimes I get over zealous (like this year) and the boys also get a Christmas book on Christmas Day. And we also have lots of grandparents and great grandparents who often give us books. All of this means that we have quite a few new favorites. Check out some of these for your collection if you'd like!
We Three Kings
This is definitely a new favorite. My #2 son got this for Christmas this year. I just LOVE the illustrations of Gennady Spirin. The text for this book is simply the lyrics to the carol "We Three Kings." The illustrations are spectacular and even include some nice images of six-winged cherubim.
The Friendly Beasts
And this is a work from another of my favorite children's illustrators, Tomie dePaola. It also uses the text of one of our favorite carols. This one is "The Friendly Beasts." It might be a great little preschool carol, but I love it for anyone. The book made a perfect Christmas gift for my #3 son on his first Christmas. 
One of my boys got this lovely book last Christmas from his Baba and Dedo. It simply tells the Nativity story, but it is illustrated with lovely simple illustrations which each feature a different animal that might have been present at the time of the first Nativity. It's fun to find the animals in the pictures. And the end of the book gives information about each kind of animal and what is known about it and its natural homeland. The lovely illustrations combined with simple story text and detailed "science information" at the end make it an interesting book for my oldest as well as my younger guys. And the photo here doesn't do it justice. It has a lovely hardbound cloth-covered binding with gold letters that make it quite a nice display piece during the holiday season. 
First ChristmasThis is another example of beautiful hardbound cloth-covered binding with beautiful gold text. The illustrations in this book are also fabulous. They are based on Coptic icons and are colorful beauties. The text is a bit long, but the gorgeous artwork makes up for it. I used this in my Church School class this year and both the children and parents loved it. Thanks again to our Baba and Dedo for this great find!
The Very First Christmas
This book was given to my oldest last Christmas on the recommendation of my dear friend. It definitely did not disappoint. We really enjoyed reading it this year. It gives lots of details about the first Christmas and is fairly consistent with Orthodox tradition about that Holy Night. It was a very fun read for my oldest especially. He thinks he's getting too old for picture books (though his quiet delight in "listening in" and the excited look on his face when we pull out an old favorite both betray that he is not too old), but this was a nice balance that seemed detailed enough for him to really enjoy and even discuss afterwards.
I'll confess that I just love that I again have an excuse to buy good board books. St. Nicholas brought this to my #3 son on his first St. Nicholas Day. It's a sweet little book about the animals preparing for the Christ child to be born in their "house." My 5-year-old loved it as much as his baby brother will love it next year. He even asked me to reread it several times in succession.
What can I say? It's a classic. And we are Dr. Seuss lovers around here. Somehow, we've never had our own copy of this in our collection. This problem just had to be solved. So, St. Nicholas brought this to son #2 this year. Everyone needs an annual reminder about the Grinch and the Whos in Whoville, right?
So, my boys love the Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne. This is one of her newest and my oldest was really wanting it this year. Perfect timing for Christmas. This story deals with Charles Dickens and how he wrote his classic A Christmas Carol. When I bought it, I realized that we really need to add the original Dicken's classic to our collection. So, that's a plan for next year. I think that will be good timing for #1 to try out a little Dickens.
Why the Chimes Rang and Other Stories (Illustrated Edition)After reading my posts about our Nativity books two years ago, a dear friend who has known me since my birth sent this book to my family as a gift. She told me that for many years it was her Christmas tradition to read the title story, "Why the Chimes Rang" to her three boys (who are now grown men and fathers and also my lifelong friends). My boys and I really enjoyed this story this year. I know it's going to become a favorite tradition for us. It's reminiscent of the themes in the Drummer Boy, with a bit of a different approach. I cried. But my boys are quite used to that.
I'll add these thoughts about reading books during Advent (or any time of year). Deliberately reading through our favorite books each Advent is such a joy. One of my favorite parts of this tradition is that it reinforces for me the great benefit in sharing great literature with my children. It often surprises me how much sheer delight they get from revisiting stories that they've enjoyed in years past. My oldest sighs with excitement when we pull out The Gift of the Magi each year. How I love that he delights in this classic O. Henry that I first met in the 7th grade! And I can't wait until #2 is ready to really enjoy it. Also this year we read together a special book for me. It is Kate Douglas Wiggins'
The Bird's Christmas Carol
. This book is special because it was a favorite of my great grandmother. When I was growing up we lived many, many miles from her and rarely saw her. In fact, I only saw in her in person twice before I turned 18. (After that I started making a habit of visiting her almost yearly until her death at age 101 when I was 24.) However, she was a huge part of my childhood thanks to beautiful letters written in her lovely penmanship and also thanks to the miracle of cassette tape players. She would record herself telling us stories and reading us books on cassette tapes and then send them to us by mail. My sister and I often went to sleep at night listening to her read stories to us. Oh, how I loved to hear her lovely and kind voice! And how I remember the words of the Wiggins story read from her lips. I had a copy of it myself, but when I read it silently, I always heard her voice. So, this year, it was so touching to share it with my boys. And it was even better that they absolutely loved it and waited eagerly for lunch each day to hear the next chapter. It is funny and sad and beautiful all at once. And I can't wait to share it with them again next year. And the next year. And the next year. It's as fun as it was to listen to it each night. And the next night. And the next night. Literature bridges the years and generations in fantastic ways.
