Sunday was the beginning of Advent. We've started our Advent Names of Jesus Chain, and we unpacked the Christmas books from the attic and put them in a pretty basket next to the sofa. It was like seeing old friends again as we unpacked the books and are slowly reading through them this month.
These are two of our favorites:
The Little Boy's Christmas Gift is a beautiful story about a little boy who follows many to visit the baby Jesus. This is BY FAR our favorite Christmas picture book we own! My mom gave it to the children years ago and it has such a special place in our hearts.
In the beginning of the story a little boy is dismissed as being not important enough to visit the baby King, but as he lurks in the shadows behind the growing groups of people going to see the baby, something wonderful happens.
It is a cumulative story, so my children enjoyed chanting along on each page, because they had seen some things on previous pages. They also enjoy searching for the little boy "lurking in the shadows" on each page.
The best thing about this book are the illustrations, done by John Spiers (who is also the author). He gives a full explanation of his paintings at the end of the book that is a lesson in an of itself.
Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini, is just a silly book about a moose who is making sure he has everything "just right" for Christmas. He makes lists and as he completes things he says, "Check, check, and CHECK!" I picked this book up at a thrift store two years ago for $.50. Don't you love finds like that?
Upon completing everything on his list, he discovers he has forgotten the Christmas tree. After searching everywhere there are no more Christmas trees, so he has to fashion himself (and especially his mustache) into a Christmas tree!
My six year old son just loves this book. My ten year old pulled the book out and said, "Oh, I remember this book! I love this book!" The message at the end is also wonderful -- it doesn't matter what you've completed on your to-do list, or that you've checked off everything on your list, it's the spirit of Christmas that truly matters.
You still have time to check these out of your local library or add them to your own library... you'll be glad you did.
We're also slowly reading aloud through A Christmas Carol on the Kindle. I love doing it this way, because then we can look up difficult words as we go along. I never tire of Charles Dickens, and we have some other Christmas stories of his to tackle this Advent, too! 
Find out what everyone else is reading aloud this week at Hope is The Word! I notice Amy is sick this week, but there are several RAT posts linked up at her blog. Here's hoping you feel better soon, Amy!
