Jolly good reads for the holiday season

Curl up with a few good books this Christmas

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Dr. Seuss
Yes, it was a book first. Generations of fans will likely know the tale of the bitter, cave-dwelling creature with a heart two sizes too small from the 1966 animated TV special. But it all began with the 1957 publication of the classic book by Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to children as Dr. Seuss. The holiday season isn’t complete without the mad-cap tale of the mean-spirited Grinch who tries to find some way to stop Christmas from coming.

Canadian Living: The Complete Christmas Book
Elizabeth Baird, Jo Calvert, Karen Kirk
The food writers at Canadian Living have a penchant for making the art of cooking accessible to even the most inexperienced among us. The Complete Christmas Book has everything you need to deck the table. From recipes for large family gatherings to intimate holiday dinners and even seasonal crafts and projects, this book is the perfect gift for the aspiring chef in your life.

The Huron Carol
Jean de Brebeuf
The Huron Carol is a retelling of the birth of Christ set in the Huron world. Father Jean de Brebeuf, a Canadian missionary, wrote this story in the native language of the Huron back in the 1600s, and it still resonates today. A true Canadian treasure.

The Night Before Christmas
Clement Clarke Moore
“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there … ”
These are the beginning lines to the wonderful Christmas poem written in 1822, which has withstood the test of time. This edition of Clement Clarke Moore’s poem is accompanied by striking illustrations to capture the anticipation of Santa’s arrival.

A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens
This classic tale of a miserly man who finds redemption just in time for Christmas is perhaps one of the most popular stories of all time. It’s been retold and reinterpreted by everyone from Disney to the Muppets to Bill Murray in Scrooged. But no one did it better than good ole’ Charles Dickens whose distinctive writing style and memorable characters have become part of our culture. A tale for young and old alike, A Christmas Carol is one of the best of the season, year after year.

Festival of Lights: The Story of Hanukkah
Maida Silverman
In Festival of Lights, Maida Silverman retells the story of the very first Hanukkah and highlights the importance of tradition. A moving story for people of all religions, this tale is an interactive journey through history with instructions for making dreidels and lighting the menorah, plus a slew of other activities. A teaching tool for children and adults of all ages.

The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories
edited by Alberto Manguel
Canada’s Alberto Manguel offers up 22 holiday stories from across the globe in this anthology. Alice Munro, John Cheever, Alistair MacLeod, and Vladimir Nabokov are just some of the famous scribes who spin a good holiday yarn in this collection.

Dubliners
James Joyce
OK, so this isn’t technically a Christmas classic, but this collection of short stories by James Joyce includes “The Dead,” a compelling, dark, and moving story that takes place on Christmas Eve. It revolves around the Conroys, a married couple who attend a festive party given by two aunts. Beneath the festive cheer, there is a palpable sense of loss and lost love. The 15 tales in this collection are supposed to be read in the order they are published because they follow the natural course of the human life from childhood to adolescence, and finally, later adulthood.Dubliners is probably Joyce’s most accessible prose for those who haven’t yet had the time or heart to take on Ulysses or Finnegan’s Wake.

An Aboriginal Carol
David Bouchard
This wonderful book, sure to be a classic in time, blends the poetry from Metis poet David Bouchard with paintings by First Nations artist Moses Beaver and the music of Inuit performer Susan Aglukark. Written in English and in Inuktituk, this story is an entertaining way for other cultures to understand the Aboriginal world view. A real treat is the accompanying CD, which includes a reading in both languages and a performance by Susan Aglukark. u

Publication Date: 2007-12-16
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=7928