Carol’s Caravan of Christmas Creations (Christmas Books from the Basement) – Day 6

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Carol Early Cooney

 

The book selected randomly this morning is

The Jolly Christmas Postman

By Janet and Allan Ahlberg

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This book really appeals to me. The appeal is the same appeal that it would have for small children.  You know the book, Pat the Bunny? Kids love that book because of the tactile pages. As I recall, there is a soft bunny tail and a little sandpaper tongue and other things to touch and feel. This book is even better. It is even better than a popup book.

Before I get to ahead of myself, let me tell you the premise of the book.  The Jolly Postman delivers mail in fairy tale land. In the story, he makes six deliveries. The book is written in verse and has many wonderful illustrations throughout.

“Once upon a Christmas Eve

Just after it had snowed,

The Jolly Postman (him again!)

Came down the jolly road;

And in the bag upon his back

An… interesting load.”

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Okay, so here is the irresistible part to me. Each envelope the postman delivers has something in it! Yes, there are pieces that come out of the envelopes. How cool is that?  For example, Baby Bear gets a Christmas card from Goldilocks that has a joke in it. (The joke isn’t that funny but that isn’t the point. And it might be hilarious to a child.) Red Riding Hood gets a board game from Mr. Wolf and Humpty Dumpty gets a jigsaw puzzle from all the King’s Horses and all the King’s Men.

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How can you resist a book that has pieces in it? And the pieces are very cute. It is fun to go through and see what each character receives.

There are three Jolly Postman books. The Jolly Postman,  The Jolly Pocket Postman and The Jolly Christmas Postman.  There is also the Jolly Postman Postcard Collection which is a collection of 30 postcards featuring images from the books.

So here is the “bad Mom” part of my story. I am willing to bet any amount of money that I didn’t let my kids play with this book because, well, they were kids and they would have lost pieces and it would have been torn.  So silly.  Oh well, maybe someday (in a far, far distant time, please) there will be grandchildren (take your time, kids!) to play with the book.

Thanks for reading!

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Carol’s Caravan of Christmas Creations (Christmas Books from the Basement) – Day 5

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Carol Early Cooney

~~Sound the trumpets ~ ~ today’s pick is

trumpets

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Pictures by S.D. Schindler

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This book is exactly what you would think it is. It is the lyrics from that famous song with pictures.

Where did the song start?

The song was first published in England in 1780 without music. It was a chant and it seems to have been French in origin. The song as we know it now is a 1909 arrangement by Fredrick Austin, an English composter.

What are the twelve days of Christmas? 

The twelve days of Christmas are the days from the day after Christmas (December 26) to Epiphany (January 6). Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season.

Interestingly in some of the northern areas of England, the song was the Ten Days of Christmas. Their season must be different from ours.

The Christmas Price Index?

Yes, while most of the world thinks of the CPI as the consumer price index, PNC Bank annually publishes the CPI – the Christmas Price Index. This practice was started in 1984 and accounts for the cumulative price of the items in the song.  Forbes Magazine cites a report from PNC Wealth Management that the CPI rose 7.7 percent this year to a total of $27,393.17. Most of the increase this year was for labor. Those dancers have gotten more expensive. In contrast,  the pear tree actually dropped in price. If you wanted to pick up all the items the song for every time they are mentioned, it would cost you $114,651. That certainly is a lot of love and a lot of calling doves!

You know the song, right?

In case somehow you don’t know the song, here is a video of it to get you humming along.


Thanks for reading!

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Carol’s Caravan of Christmas Creations (Christmas Books from the Basement) – Day 4

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Carol Early Cooney

The book selected randomly this morning is (are you eager with anticipation?)

 The Christmas Stores of George MacDonald

Illustrated by Linda Hill Griffith

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Mmmmm.  The absolute truth is that I have never read this book. In looking at it, I see that it was a gift to us in 1990. (That is a long time to have not read the book but what can I say?) I am sure that I wanted to read the book because it was by George MacDonald.

You know those authors that you know you should read; the ones that you want to read but just don’t seem to want to read them enough?  That is my George MacDonald conundrum.

George MacDonald (1824 – 1905) was an ordained minister for the Congregational Church in Scotland. He had been raised in the church but did have some philosophical differences with the teachings.  Not amazingly, he had some problems in the ministry. He went on to teach at the University of London and he lectured in the United States.  But he came into prominence as a writer.

His most famous books were fantasies, with the most famous of those being Phantastes, The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind, and Lilith. There were also fairy tales including The Light Princess, The Golden Key and The Wise Woman.  All in all, he wrote 14 books of fantasy, 28 books of fiction, 13 books of poetry and 13 books of non-fiction. He produced quite a body of work.

Are you wondering how George MacDonald ever came to my attention? Besides the massive body of work, he was a strong influence on many writers.  Specifically, he was a strong influence on two of my favorite authors, C. S. Lewis and Madeline L’Engle.  In the introduction to George MacDonald :An Anthology, C. S. Lewis states:

“In making this collection I was discharging a debt of justice. I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him as my master; indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him. But it has not seemed to me that those who have received my books kindly take even now sufficient notice of the affiliation. Honesty drives me to emphasize it.”

With that kind of homage, I knew that I should back up and read the man who had such a strong influence on my favorite authors. But, somehow I have never been able to push myself into reading his works. Perhaps now that I have “told the world” (or six of my friends) that I should read old George, it will move me sit with him for a spell.

There is another interesting story about MacDonald. One of his friends was Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. What, the name is not familiar? Perhaps his pen name of Lewis Carroll would help.  It was upon MacDonald’s urging that Carroll submitted Alice in Wonderland for publication. MacDonald read the book to his children and they were so enthusiastic about it that he convinced his friend to get it published.

I look forward to seeing what comes out of the box tomorrow. I also hope that I don’t have to admit that I haven’t read it!

Thanks for reading!

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Carol’s Caravan of Christmas Creations (Christmas Books from the Basement) – Day 3

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Carol Early Cooney

The book selected randomly this morning is (trumpets and confetti rain down)

Mickey’s Christmas Carol

 

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As I warned at the beginning of this book adventure, I will not always stick to writing about the book. Today, I am more interested in the publisher of the story than the story itself.

As you can see from the picture, this is a Little Golden Book. Oh, the land of Little Golden Books… They were a part of our childhoods. They were very distinctive and a goldmine for the original publisher, Simon and Schuster, who released the books in cooperation with the Artist and Writers Guild, Inc. in 1942. The books were originally 25 cents.

Little Golden Books represented a change in the field of children’s books. For the first time, children’s books were priced so that the books were accessible to all children. Prior to this time, children’s books were expensive and not found in all homes. The original concept was to bring high quality but low prices to the children’s book market. Also the books were designed to be sturdy, which was also new to the industry. Another large change was that the books were available outside of book stores. They were sold in grocery stores and department stores. This made them even more accessible to all children.

The books were a success. The books came to market during World War II when paper shortages loomed over the head of the publishing industry but that did not impact these books. Within five months of their introduction, the books had sold over 1.5 million copies and were on their third printing.  There were 12 titles published on October 1, 1942. Some of these titles are still available today. The original 12 were:

  1. Three Little Kittens
  2. Bedtime Stories
  3. Mother Goose
  4. Prayers for Children
  5. The Little Red Hen
  6. Nursery Songs
  7. The Alphabet from A to Z
  8. The Poky Little Puppy
  9. The Golden Book of Fairy Tales
  10. Baby’s Book of Objects
  11. The Animals of Farmer Jones
  12. This Little Piggy and Other Counting Rhymes

The bestselling Little Golden Book of all time is The Pokey Little Puppy. In fact, it is the bestselling children’s book of the 20th century. Famous writers and illustrators have contributed to Little Golden Books including Margaret Wise Brown, Garth Williams, Richard Scarry and Eloise Wilkin, to name a few.

As times changed so did Little Golden Books. While some of the original titles stayed around, there were stories introduced over the years that reflected the societal influences of the time. For example, there were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street, and Underdog stories.

There is currently an exhibition at the Smithsonian American History Museum about Little Golden Books. The exhibition runs until January 5, 2014.

In the last few years, I have heard suggestions that instead of giving cards to children that you can give a book for about the same price. It looks like Little Golden Books will continue to entertain children for years to come.

Thanks for reading!

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Carol’s Caravan of Christmas Creations (Christmas Books from the Basement) – Day 2

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Carol Early Cooney

The book selected randomly (I didn’t look, I promise) this morning is

The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury

Selected by Alice Low

And

Illustrated by Marc Brown

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This anthology of Christmas and winter themed stories and poems draws from varied sources. There are short poems from Judith Viorst, A.A. Milne, John Updike, and Edgar Allan Poe and short stories from Beverly Cleary, the Brothers Grimm, and Clement Clarke Moore.

The stories and poems are delightful (think Ramona and the Wiser Persons and The More It Snows), it is the illustrations that make the book a pleasure. Each page of the book has color illustration to match the story or poem. Marc Brown’s illustrations add beautifully to the collection. You may recognize the name Marc Brown. He is the author and illustrator of the Arthur series of children’s books and television show.   I am including a short video of him talking about how he started writing and illustrating children’s books.

The beauty of the book is that you can settle in and read for short periods of time or read a short story that will take a little longer. December is such a great time to get “cuddled in” on the couch or a big chair and read – especially by the cozy glow of Christmas lights.

Here is a sample poem from the book:

A Sled for Christmas

  • UP! UP! Up I jump
  • and down the stairs I fly.
  • LOOK! LOOK! A band-new sled
  • that I can’t wait to try.
  • ZIP! ZIP! Bundle up,
  • I’m toasty warm inside.
  • QUICK! QUICK! Out the door,
  • then down the hill I’ll glide.
  • NO! NO! It isn’t fair,
  • It simply isn’t right.
  • SNOW! SNOW! I see no snow,
  • It melted overnight.

Jack Prelutsky

It looks like I am going to lose the next hour or so reading the book and admiring the illustrations!

Thanks for reading!

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