12 Days of Picture Books!

Summaries provided by Barbara Saylor
http://www.storyhourlibrary.com

Day One:

CHRISTMAS COOKIES
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

This scrumptious follow-up to the bestselling Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons captures the spirit of the holiday season. From making the same kind of cookies at the same time each year (tradition) to decorating them with lots of sprinkles (celebrate), youngsters will gobble up vocabulary words and holiday lessons in this charming dictionary of sorts. Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s timeless morsels of wisdom paired with Jane Dyer’s cozy illustrations are as irresistible as the aroma of cookies fresh from the oven.


Instead of using a lot of colored icings and making a mess, just coat all of your sugar cookies with a simple white frosting, and use sprinkles to decorate. Better Homes and Garden

Day Two:

NUTCRACKER
By E.T.A. Hoffman, illustrated b Maurice Sendak

The tale of Nutcracker, written by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1816, has fascinated and inspired artists, composers, and audiences for almost two hundred years. Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) designed brilliant sets and costumes for the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Christmas production of Nutcracker and created even more magnificent pictures especially for this book.

http://www.maryengelbreit.com/nutcracker-cut-outs.html

Martha Stewart /The Craft Department’s Favorite Holiday Projects

Day 3:

PETE THE CAT SAVES CHRISTMAS
by James Dean and Eric Litwin

‘Twas the day before Christmas and Santa was ill. In the cold winter wind he had caught a bad chill. Will Christmas be canceled? Will it come to that? “Never!” cried Santa. “Let’s call Pete the Cat!” In this rockin’ new spin on the traditional tale The Night Before Christmas, Pete the Cat proves that giving your all in the spirit of Christmas is the totally groovy thing to do.

I can give it my all! Handout by:
http://fantasticfirstgradefroggies.blogspot.com/2012/12/12-days-of-christmas-day-2-and-freebie.html

Pete the Gingerbread Cat
http://misssarahsstorytime.blogspot.com/2012/11/pete-cat-christmas-extravaganza.htm

Day 4

WHY CHRISTMAS TREES AREN’T PERFECT
by Richard Schneider

Long, long ago, in a land far away, lived a perfect little tree named Small Pine. Small Pine hoped to maintain its perfect form and be selected by the Queen as her Christmas tree. But as the warm-hearted little tree gave shelter to birds, rabbits, and deer in the forest, its branches became damaged. Fortunately, the Queen had a different idea of perfection… Young readers will want to read and reread the story of how Small Pine’s love and charity for its friends helps make it the most “perfect” ChristmasTree of all. This magnificently illustrated story of a warm-hearted Christmas tree will surely become one of the most beloved classics of future generations. Schneider’s storytelling will enthrall children and adults alike.

Go on a nature walk and gather pinecones, come back and decorate with pom poms. Deliver to nursing home, or friends.
by Gemstone

Christmas tree ice cream cones, on top of frosted cupcakes. Pipe with green frosting and use circular sprinkles as ornaments.

Day 5

THE POLAR EXPRESS
by Chris Van Allsburg

A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa. Winner of the 1986 Caldecott Medal.
From the Author: “The Polar Express is about faith, and the power of imagination to sustain faith. It’s also about the desire to reside in a world where magic can happen, the kind of world we all believed in as children, but one that disappears as we grow older.”


Graham cracker train with M&M’s, whipped cream, and hot, hot chocolate!
by Chasing Supermom

Day 6

THE CHRISTMAS QUIET BOOK
by Deborah Undersood

The Christmas companion to the “New York Times” bestsellers, “The Quiet Book” and the “The Loud Book!” celebrating quiet sounds of the holiday season.
Sketch from Renata Liwska, Illustrator of The Christmas Quiet Book

The illustrator does the art for these books with pencil and then colors them digitally. The effect is stunning. The cross-hatched shading is so delicate, and it makes you feel like you could cuddle each of the characters.
Here is a little preview of her darling characters moving about:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L5FUQgc6p50&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DL5FUQgc6p50

Some Christmas quiet actives to do: make snow angels, drink cocoa, turn on the lights of a Christmas tree, make a gingerbread house, and write a note to Santa.
by catch my party

Day 7

WINTER’S GIFT
by Jane Monroe Donovan

A lonely old man living on a small farm wants to forget Christmas, along with its painful memories of loved ones lost. But a snowstorm and a surprise visitor needing help bring an opportunity for that most elusive gift of all–hope.

Jane Monroe Donovan the author, sketches and paints. She loves and owns horses. Use the coloring page to practice coloring and shading the horse and foal.

Day 8

ROOM FOR A LITTLE ONE
By Martin Waddell

As Kind Ox settles in for a night in a stable next to an inn, Old Dog comes in looking for a warm place to sleep. Kind Ox welcomes Old Dog, who in turn makes room for Stray Cat, then Small Mouse–then Tired Donkey, led by Joseph and carrying Mary.

“There’s always room for a little one here.”

Haulinwiththeoats.com

How to:
1. Paint the childs hand with brown paint. We used kids acrylic or crayola paint. Get it nice and covered.
2. Place their hand as still and straight as you can on the paper. We ended up having to do two hands each for wiggly fingers.
3. Let that dry for a bit.
4. Go over the top of the hand with yellow paint or dark yellow pencil to make it look like hay.
5. Cut out a circle – about 3/4 of an inch wide in cream, tan, or light brown for the head.
6. Cut out an oval shaped body in white.
7. Glue the body down and then the head on top of the body. When done with that place the eyes and mouth with marker.
8. We then cut out around the hand, hole punched it, put a string.

Day 9

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
by Dr. Seuss

The Grinch tries to stop Christmas from arriving by stealing all the presents and food from the village, but much to his surprise it comes anyway. Could Christmas be more than presents? “And then he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”

This holiday classic is perfect for reading aloud to your favorite little Whos.

Grinch Party Poppers
creativekidssnacks.com
1. Ingredients and Assemble Grinches
-slice of white string cheese (at least 1/3 inch thick)
-strawberry
-banana slice (at least 1/3 inch thick)
-green grape (with bottom sliced off so it lays flat)
-melted chocolate. (1/2 of a Hershey’s bar, broken into pieces and microwaved until melted, stirring at 20 second intervals will be plenty to make up to 25 poppers
2. Pipe Grinch faces
3. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes

Day 10

MR. WILLOWBY’S CHRISTMAS TREE
by Robert Barry

First published in 1963, this charming tale is about a Christmas tree that’s just a little too tall for its parlor.

Instructions for cupcake liner trees can be found on: 36th ave.com

Day 11

THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
by Nancy Tillman

This beautiful picture book captures the essence of Christmas. With glorious verse and artwork, the “New York Times”-bestselling author of “On the Night You Were Born” celebrates all the special moments, the heart, and the soul of the holiday season.

Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments
nestofposies.com
You Tube video of this book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHemXx3j54#t=1

Day 12

‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
by Clement C. Moore

Since it was first published anonymously in 1823, this charming poem has enchanted children’s for generations. Many families read it every year!

by Party Pinching.com

Reindeer Food to help Santa find your house tonight!

Time for Bed Craft
by: Oh! Sweet Babies