Today's Christmas book post is actually four books (or more!). When I was growing up, I loved reading the American Girl book series produced by Pleasant Company. These fictional stories of girls from the past helped to highlight some of the differences and similarities between people from different time periods and circumstances. 

Each of the original series contain six short chapter books, and book three is the Christmas story. In every book of the series, there is a "Looking Back" section at the end that gives more details about what life was like during the time period of each particular character.

Felicity is growing up in Colonial Williamsburg around the time of the American Revolution. In Felicity's Surprise, she is invited to a dancing lesson at the governor's palace, but when her mother falls ill, she has to spend all her time caring for her, and accepts that she probably will not get to go. But, surprises can still happen!

Kirsten is a member of a pioneer family that emigrates from Sweden in the first book in her series. In Kirsten's Surprise, Kirsten and her father are caught in a blizzard on their way home from retrieving the family's trunks from their journey. But in the end, we get a glimpse of some of the traditions involved in the Swedish celebration of Saint Lucia's Day.

In the first book of her series, Addy and her mother escape from slavery after their family is split up by their master. In Addy's Surprise, Addy and her mother are making a life for themselves in Philadelphia, but money is tight, and they wonder if they will ever see the rest of their family again. But as they plan small surprises for each other, they are in for an even bigger surprise at the end (I have a summary of this whole series here).

Molly lives in America during World War 2, and her father is away in England working as a doctor during the war. Even though Christmas is coming in Molly's Surprise, the family knows their father may not have time to send them anything because he is so busy. But when Molly and her sister find a package with instructions to keep it hidden, they decide they have been entrusted with keeping the surprise in Christmas.

Scrounged From: Presents from my childhood

Our family has very much enjoyed the first Story Orchestra book: Four Seasons in One Day, which features music from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons (see my review here).

So I was pretty excited when I saw that there would be another entry in this series: The Nutcracker! I was not disappointed. Like the first book, it features a sturdy cover with bright, textured illustrations, and a back cover that plays quality snippets of music when you press the musical note that corresponds to the correct portion of the cover. In the beginning this can be a bit difficult since you are pressing through all the pages, but it gets easier as it goes. Like the first book, I plan to keep this one up high so my young kids can learn how to treat it properly before they play with it unsupervised.

The story provides busy, colorful illustrations and a narrative that follows the Nutcracker ballet -- from Clara eagerly anticipating her Uncle Drosselmeyer's arrival, to her throwing her slipper at the mouse king to vanquish him (I was glad that part was included!) and being whisked away to the Land of Sweets. Of course, a book can't fully do the ballet justice, but by including small parts of the music, it is able to add to the summary of the text to make it a bit more magical. 

The last page includes a brief bio of Peter Tchaikovsky (whose illustrated form looks suspiciously like Uncle Drosselmeyer -- or vice versa), as well as some additional information about each of the ten segments of music that are featured. This is definitely a holiday treasure, and can help young children appreciate the ballet even before they're old enough to sit through the whole thing.

Scrounged From: Amazon

Format: Hardcover
Author/illustrator: Jessica Courtney-Tickle
Pages: 24
Content Advisory: None

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Walter Wick is the photographer of the I Spy series, first published in 1992. His colorful, busy, intricate photographs of created scenery and cleverly arranged objects have captivated many children (and adults too!) since then, and kept us busy looking for all the hidden objects. No matter how much we look, it seems there are always new details to discover upon a second or third viewing.

His newer series, Can You See What I See?, includes Night Before Christmas, in which the title of each picture is a snippet from Clement Moore's famous poem, "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Along with rhyming riddles full of objects to find, we are treated to beautiful, magical photographs featuring (among other things) winter scenery, decorated Christmas cookies, stockings hung by the fire with care, and lastly, the shadow of Saint Nick himself as he stops to deliver presents. 

The anticipation of Christmas is alive and well in this book!

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author/Illustrator: Walter Wick
Pages: 40
Content Advisory: None

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I was pleased to come across The Real Mother Goose Book of Christmas Carols at a flea market (and in good condition, too), because it's a great addition to our Christmas-themed literature. While we have a hymnal or two somewhere, this is a much more accessible way for children to encounter the words to traditional Christmas carols. 

Each carol shows the first verse/chorus with sheet music (hymnal style), while the complete text is included in verse form after that. (I really appreciate this since I don't read music so the words are easier to read this way.) Before the carol text, there is an introduction which describes where the carol is from, and approximately when it was written and by whom (if known). There are a few here whose backstories were familiar to me, but others that I learned about for the first time.

Most of the older, traditional favorites are included here -- Silent Night, What Child is This, O Come All Ye Faithful, Joy to the World, etc. Most are religious in nature but there are a few fun ones (Jingle Bells, Deck the Hall, etc.) that are not. 

It was nice to see some diversity in the people in the illustrations here, which is not something I would have necessarily expected from a Real Mother Goose book (this was published a lot later than the nursery rhyme book though).

My only real complaint is that there are a couple carols here (O Christmas Tree; O Come O Come Emmanuel) which are not the versions I'm used to, and I assume these are simply alternate translations. However, I listen to an awful lot of Christmas music, and I don't think I've yet heard anyone record this version of O Come O Come Emmanuel -- it's too bad a less popular version (again, assuming my experience is typical) was chosen. 

Either way, this is a great book to have if you love traditional Christmas carols, whether you read music or not.

Scrounged From: Our local flea market

Format: Hardcover
Author: Laurence Schorsch
Illustrator: Lynn Adams
Pages: 64
Content Advisory: None

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The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg, is probably the first thing that comes to mind when I think "classic Christmas picture book." I grew up with this book's quiet imagery of light and shadows, and was captivated by the mysterious nature of this train that just shows up at a boy's door on Christmas Eve.

Even after years of knowing how the story goes, I still feel the disappointment in the boy's voice as he talks of losing his present, and his relief at receiving it again the next day.

While I enjoyed the music in the movie adaptation, I don't think it did the book justice -- the book really captures the wonder and anticipation of Christmas, as well as the sadness of loss and the joy of rediscovery.

Scrounged From: A Christmas present when I was two years old

Format: Hardcover
Author/Illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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