A beautiful story of honesty and the spirit of Christmas.
About Dear Santa
When Ms. Holly asks the class to write their letters to Santa, Parker gets nervous. He has done some things this year that might put him on the naughty list. Like feeding Brussels sprouts to his dog and staying up past his bedtime. Should he gloss over his mistakes like his classmates do, or take responsibility for his actions? Deciding that honesty is the best policy, and hoping that Santa understands, Parker hands in his letter and hopes for the best.
Christmas morning arrives and Parker finds a big surprise under the tree ― PLUS a letter from Santa!
BONUS: Kids can write a letter to Santa using the festive holiday-themed stationery included in every book. Parents can also visit putmeinthestory.com/dearsanta for a FREE downloadable personalized letter from the desk of Santa Claus, or get a letter and official ‘Nice List’ certificate sent in a magical envelope all the way from the North Pole! It’s never been easier to make your child’s Christmas wishes come true.
Our Thoughts
Dear Santa is the perfect Christmas book that will make you laugh, smile and start all of those important conversations with your child around their actions and being the best person that they can be.
Writing a letter to Santa is a tradition that we have all done every year as a child. It is so important to children and for the magic of Christmas. It can also cause a bit of anxiety, as children tend to worry if they have been good enough for gifts, if they should be showing off all of their good deeds and if Santa will put them on the good or bad list. It can be quite a stressful time for a child!
This beautiful book follows Parker, a young boy who is tasked with writing a letter to Santa at school. He listens to his classmates writing their letters and is shocked when they write about how good they are. Because to be fair – no one is perfect 100% of the time. Parker knows he is not perfect and he doesn’t want to lie to Santa, even if it means he may not get any presents on Christmas. So Parker explains to Santa how he tried to be good and why he wasn’t.
This was an adorable, sweet and funny book that we loved from start to finish. Parker’s fears are something that every child can relate to and it is such an important lesson for children to learn. It is okay to make mistakes and to not be perfect – it is when we own those mistakes that we grow as a person and become better individuals. I loved how this book explained this concept in a way that children can understand – we don’t want our kids to be perfect, just the best version of themselves.
This will become a favourite holiday read in your home and is perfect for children of all ages. We also loved that the book came with beautiful paper in the back for your child to write a letter to Santa to, as well as with a free Santa letter download.
Susanna Leonard Hill is the New York Times bestselling author of Moon’s First Friends, as well as many other award-winning books for children. She does frequent school and library visits, teaches picture book writing, and offers picture book critiques. She lives in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley with her children and two rescue dogs.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
We have definitely had a few early blasts of winter weather as the holiday season quickly approaches. This is the perfect time to open up some holiday treasured books with your children and spend a little extra time reading each night. Or perhaps to even discover new family favourites leading up to the Christmas holidays?
Raincoast Books has a beautiful collection of books that will make great gifts leading up to the holidays or even as a special gift under the tree. Both my kids and their cousins, always receive at least one special book as a Christmas gift because I feel so strongly that these are something that they can treasure long after the holiday season is over.
Looking for three new books to add to your holiday reading routine? Look no further then these top three picks from Raincoast Books:
Christmas Is Coming! An Advent Book
Every day of December brings a new Christmas tradition in this keepsake Advent book. Each flap on the cover of the book reveals a clue to a festive activity that can be found inside the pages. It might be a recipe for a delicious homemade treat, instructions for a cozy craft, a game to play, a carol to sing, or a beautifully illustrated story to read with the whole family. This inviting twist on the traditional advent calendar is perfect for families who love to put their own spin on celebrating the holidays.
I fell in love with this special book the moment I laid my eyes on it. Advent is a very special time in our lives and sometimes we can forget what makes life so important; family and opening our homes and hearts for Christmas. There is more to Advent than just chocolate and presents!
I put this book under our Christmas tree and we waited patiently for December 1st to open it up. This was not the easiest task for any of us, as I really wanted to dive in and see what kind of activities were in the book but we also wanted it to be a special surprise that we uncovered day by day.
We had a snowstorm yesterday and decided that we would open the book after dinner. His first activity? Write a letter to Santa. The reading for December 1st was beautiful and my son was excited to write his letter (I couldn’t believe I had not done this yet with him!). We have decided as a family, that we would do each activity after dinner but before we wind down for bed. You can follow along on Instagram as we work our way through the book.
This is the perfect book for parents and grandparents that are looking for something different and meaningful during the Advent season.
Go on a festive and fun-filled adventure with Larry in this hilarious holiday edition of the USA Today bestselling series, Don’t Push the Button!
Larry (the lovable monster) has received a present, and he is desperate to know what is inside, but he needs your help to figure it out. But whatever you do. . . DON’T SHAKE THE PRESENT!
This is an adorable book perfect for young readers just before the holiday season. We have two kids that love to touch and shake their presents (and even sometimes peel away the wrapping at the side so that they can see inside!). We had so much fun reading this out loud and I definitely did not see the ending coming but it was perfect and gave us all a great chuckle.
The book itself is small, hard covered and interactive, making it a great read for young children that have a harder time sitting still at reading time. It also is a book that children can relate to and helps parents explain the importance of patience during the holiday season.
Iris and her lion go everywhere together. But when Christmas comes and the family is going away, Mom says her lion must stay behind. After all, you can’t take a lion on a train! Luckily the lion has other ideas. He sets off on a festive, snowy adventure to find Iris – and almost bumps into Santa Claus!
This is a beautifully written and illustrated book about the friendship between Iris and her lion in the context of Christmas. Iris is visiting family for the holidays and her lion is just too big to go on the train (or even to fit in her suitcase!), not to mention he may just scare her family. Her Mom makes the lion stay home, but lion has other plans – he follows them on the train! The only problem, he sleeps through their stop! He must find his way back to Iris (which he does) but encounters a unique method of finding her using Santa Claus’ method of climbing up and down chimneys. Can you imagine a lion coming down the chimney?
This was a great book to read out loud to our kids. It has such a great flow and full of great age appropriate humour. We had a few great conversations of all the animals we wished we could have at home (a gorilla was one). The illustrations are beautiful and fit the story perfectly. This will make for a great read before bedtime as we gear up into the holiday season.
Marvel at nature’s miracles, spread joy wherever you can, experience earth’s infinite wonders. This is what led David Mulford to create the Crab Lake series. Explore the author’s world through Jeannie’s Crab Lake Christmas and Jeannie’s Crab Lake Winter Tales.
About Jeannie’s Crab Lake Christmas
All the animals in the forest are abuzz. Jeannie, the kindest and most beautiful lady they know, is coming to Crab Lake for Christmas! The animals love to watch Jeannie from a distance when she visits in the summer, but they have never had a chance to talk to her before now — for, as everyone knows, animals can only talk in the winter. This time, however, they can finally say a proper hello.
So come to Crab Lake for Christmas, and spend the evening with Jeannie and her forest friends: bear cub Pudgey and his family, kindly Mr. Woodchuck, distinguished Bellknap Beaver, and the deer, the wolves, the cardinals, and more! Beautiful illustrations by Christine Cathers Donohue bring them all to life in Jeannie’s Crab Lake Christmas, David Mulford’s charming tale of friendship, family and fun.
About Jeannie’s Crab Lake Winter Tales
In this second book, winter has come back to Crab Lake, Wisconsin. Reunite with Jeannie and her woodland friends as they catch up and share the joy of the season and the holidays. All your favourite characters are back to teach you that friendship and helping others is what truly leads to the greatest of life’s adventures.
Our Thoughts
These beautiful, sweet books featuring Jeannie and the wildlife of Crab Lake, will become a story that you can treasure up to and during the holiday season.
Jeannie is a special woman. She is kind, loving and thoughtful. Those around her can sense these strong values and kindness and love her very much for this. I am a firm believer that animals can sense good and bad people, and the animals in these stories love her so very much.
Both books take place at Crab Lake and I love how the author makes the location come to life (especially as someone who has never visited these areas). You feel like you are visiting Crab Lake and the surrounding area yourself. The author uses descriptive language that brings to life the lakes, hills and forest in this area, while the illustrations help to deliver that message. We become part of the festivities and excitement of the holidays (I can’t wait for the simple things like family gatherings, fireplaces, and hot buttered rum) that is so often described throughout the story.
The animals play a huge role in this story, as we learn that the animals can speak and be heard by humans but only in the winter! As someone who loves animals, I truly wish this would come true (I can only imagine what our dogs would tell us – ‘how dare you not let me sleep in your bed when you are not home’). We found ourselves giving certain characters their own accents (especially Mr. Woodchuck, Mr. Beaver and the bears) and it fit well into the story (I found myself naturally using a British accent at times when I was reading the story to my son).
The story in both books is on the longer side but would make for an excellent bedtime story with your child or after dinner reading in front of the Christmas tree. Jeannie’s Crab Lake Winter Tales is a bit longer but worth every minute. I loved the illustrations, they felt soft, warm and engaging. It fit the characters and tone of the story perfectly. The books are well written and remind you of all the important things in life – family, harmony, love and helping other captured in a manner that children of all ages will appreciate. It is both fun and serious, with such important messaging for young children today.
As a side note – I loved that David wrote these stories for his wife, Jeannie. It is so beautiful and touching, the love that he feels for her and the time they spent at Crab Lake is captured so well in these stories.
These books will make a great addition to your holiday reading list and you can purchase a copy of this book here.
About the Author
For David Mulford and his wife, Jeannie, Christmas would not be complete without their visits to the beautiful Wisconsin waters of Crab Lake. These magical journeys provide the inspiration for David’s whimsical tales. In addition to writing, David has a PhD from Oxford University, serves as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, and has enjoyed a long and notable career in international finance and diplomacy. For the last twenty-seven years, David’s Christmas gift to Jeannie, no matter where they are in the world, has been a story of Christmas at Crab Lake. When not traveling, David and Jeannie reside in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
There are many important life skills that as parents we need to teach our children – from money management to manners to cooking to grooming and the list goes on and on. It can actually be a bit overwhelming at times – this is a huge immense responsibility that we have and where do we start? How do we make some of these topics fun so that kids want to listen and learn. I think that this is the most important part – we don’t want to bore them so that they don’t listen or act out on purpose. So where do we start? The following three books are excellent ways to start getting your child interested in baking, cooking and being good citizens.
In addition to the best, delicious recipes, chapters include how-to information, detailed technique guidance, step-by-step photos, and information on the science behind what makes your baked goods taste so great.
Tested for quality, taste, ease, availability of ingredients, each recipe will be suited perfectly for your emerging young baker. Photos and testimonials from kid test cooks will encourage young chefs that they truly are learning from the best.
This baking book is for the child who enjoys being in the kitchen and wants to continue to grow those skills. You will find recipes for beginners, moderate and more experienced bakers in this book and recipes ranging from muffins to breads to pizza to cookies to bars and desserts (yummy!). Each recipe is extremely easy to follow and clearly outlines the total time it will require to bake the item (very important) to a full list of ingredients and equipment required (nothing worse then having the wrong equipment on hand) and easy to follow step by step instructions. Each recipe includes beautiful large photographs that give you an idea of what the final product will look like along with a few funny notes and tidbits. Each recipe also has a testimonial from a child speaking to the taste of each item (which means the world to kids – they like to know what other kids felt too). I even learned a few new recipes – like an olive oil cake! I had never even heard of this one before and this was one of the first items we had to try, and it was well worth it.
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Chapters.
Connoisseur Kids
From Jennifer Scott -author of the New York Times bestselling Madame Chic series and founder of the Daily Connoisseur blog – comes a book on manners and being a good global citizen, Connoisseur Kids.
Parents and younger children work together to read about a wide range of topics including: communication, table manners, tidiness, thinking of others, grooming, and health. Activities, learning games, fill-in-the-blanks, letter-writing exercises, recipes, and some fun songs and rhymes help kids learn concepts and practice good behaviors. This is a timely guide for raising well-mannered, neat, and gracious children for parents, grandparents, and children of reading age.
A connoisseur is an expert judge in a specific field. This book aims to helps kids become experts in the art of living. Something that we can all appreciate and that some adults may need to work on refreshing their skills (I am huge on manners and almost always find it shocking when people forget to say simple things like excuse me, please and thank you). This book can be read together (parents and child), parent reads it alone to bring the ideas forward or if your child is old enough, let them enjoy the book all on their own.
This book has six chapters: Communication, Table Manners, Tidiness, Thinking of Others, Hygiene & Grooming and Health. Communication covers topics such as eye contact, posture and speaking clearly. Table manners covers topics such as setting the table, sitting at the table. Tidiness covers your child’s room and shared space. Thinking of Others covers topics such as sportmanship, pets, other people. Hygiene covers popular topics like hair, skin and teeth. Health covers important topics such as eating well, water intake and sweets.
Each topic has a clear explanation about what the topic is and the overall importance. It is written in a way that is easy for children of all ages to understand and relate to. We may have a general idea of why we should do or eat things but sometimes children may not understand this and need a little more guidance. I loved that each topic was then followed up with an activity, assignment, game or even a recipe. It really helps children put into practice what they have just learned (and to be honest most of us learn by doing not just by reading, especially younger children). This is an excellent resource for adults and children to help them learn how to be successful in life.
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Chapters.
Fun illustrations and characters bring the kitchen to life. Join Pierre Lamielle on a kitchen adventure as he introduces you to the Munchy Munchy Gang. They are a team of characters that are here to educate kids on the art of cooking and the range of flavors they will encounter. Learn how to make over 28 different recipes, including ketchup, pancakes, and other kid favorites with simple instructions and illustrations for every step of the way. Pierre’s characters make complex cooking theories, like balancing the five tastes, accessible to kids of all ages.
This is a fun book that kids will enjoy reading and putting into practice. The book is hard covered but with a spiral notebook feel on the inside (similar to the recipe books I was familiar with when I was a child). The book starts off with an excellent section on the dangers of the kitchen – from sharp objects to burns to germs. It explains, using a combination of pictures and words, what to watch out for, what can happen and how to handle each situation. We then dive into our characters, Sal, Pepper, Ragu, Ziti, Sage, Rose, Bean (my personal favourite being Ziti – the picky eater!). The recipes themselves are told almost in a comic strip style, which at times I felt it was a bit hard to follow but it suited the style and tone of the book. It is not just a recipe book but a story with fun characters that make it a lot more personal and full of great advice for young children (like keep a bag of the baked breakfast cookies in the freezer for mornings when you sleep in!). This is an adorable, unique book for young readers to learn the basics and grow their skills in the kitchen. This is for young readers and bakers that want to have a little bit of fun in the kitchen.
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Chapters.
The Giveaway!
Ready to prepare your child to tackle all those important life skills? Raincoast Books is giving away a prize package, that includes the above three books, with a total value of $90. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada (Excluding Quebec), 18 years of age and older. Good luck!
Between 1933 and 1945, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were responsible for the persecution of millions of Jews across Europe.
About Survivors of the Holocaust: True Stories of Six Extraordinary Children
This extraordinary graphic novel tells the true stories of six Jewish children and young people who survived the Holocaust. From suffering the horrors of Auschwitz, to hiding from Nazi soldiers in war-torn Paris, to sheltering from the Blitz in England, each true story is a powerful testament to the survivors’ courage. These remarkable testimonials serve as a reminder never to allow such a tragedy to happen again.
Our Thoughts
This is an incredibly important story for children, teens and adults to read, read again and read one more time. The stories that are told will touch your heart and stay with you, a reminder of what happens when we let hate and fear rule our actions.
We learn the history of six Jewish children and how they survived the horrors of the war. First we learn about Heinz and his family who managed to just escape out of Germany in time before the war broke out, only to be sent to an interment camp in Great Britain (this was something I was not aware that even happened, so this was eye opening for me). Then we hear the story of Trude – a young girl who shares her view of a child living during the war and watching her family being rounded up and murdered. She was sent to Great Britain to escape the horrors but they followed in her heart and mind, never truly leaving her. She knew her Father was murdered in the concentration camps but she never found the proof that her Mother was murdered as well. Next, we have Ruth’s story whose Mother fought hard to keep her family together and managed to escape Europe before the war broke out. The moment they landed on British soil, war was declared with Germany. Then we learned about Martin who was marched into Poland by the German soldiers, forced out of his home at night. He survives only by the kindness of strangers that take him in. Next we learn the heart breaking story of Suzanne, who was saved from the Nazi soldiers by a neighbour to then face devastating conditions working on a rural farm in hiding. Finally, we hear the story of Arek who survived the ghettos and Auschwitz. Each story is powerful and overwhelming.
This is an extremely powerful book told through the honest eyes of children. It is full of raw emotions and honesty that will make you cry. The horrors they saw and endured are unspeakable but need to be spoken. No child should have ever seen, heard or gone through what they did and we need to ensure this never happens again.
It is told in a comic book style with strips of illustrations and text boxes that help keep the messaging simple and to the point. At the end of the book, is a what happened next where we learned what happened to each of the children in the future. While this gives hope, it is also a reminder of how much was lost during the war – whole families lost in a moment, history taken away and a future denied.
This is such an important book that children need to read and learn about. They need to know how this happened and why we need to fight to ensure it never happens again. This is a definite must read for children, young adults and adults.
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