Welcome to December!
We have been diligently decorating for Christmas and watching an insane amount of international soccer. I cannot believe I have arrived at a point in my life wherein I can name players on multiple international squads. WHO EVEN AM I?
The Part Where There’s an Essay: A Few Favorite Christmas Picture Books
(I first took a swipe at this article in 2006! Hard to believe. Here are some of my original recommendations, along with some new ones.)
Every year when we haul out all the Christmas decorations, I find the heaviest box the most rewarding. It is the box that contains the movies, music, and books that accompany us through December. This year when I opened it, squeals of delight escaped the mouths of the boys as I handed out the books. A rather quiet afternoon ensued, as they looked over the books -- old friends from whom they had been separated for a year's time.
I have narrowed down our extremely large collection to a few choice picture books that I heartily recommend.
Shooting at the Stars: the Christmas Truce of 1914 by John Hendrix. Not a typical Christmas story; a retelling of the truce on Christmas Eve during WWI. Very moving, not for the littlest ones.
Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Jason Cockcroft. From the author of Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear? a simply-told story of the first Christmas eve from the animals' perspective. Beautiful illustrations. This would be great for your littlest listeners.
This Is the Star by Joyce Dunbar, illustrated by Gary Blythe. A rhyming retelling of the first Christmas whose sing-song lyrics come to a standstill at the sentence, "This is the child that was born." Breathtakingly realistic illustrations — seriously, you might think they are photographs. As a side note, this is the only book I've seen in which the Christ child actually looks like a newborn instead of a chubby three-month-old. All ages. (WHY IS THIS BOOK OUT OF PRINT?! I have linked to abebooks above.)
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey By Susan Wojciechowski, illustrated by P.J. Lynch. A moving story about a lonely widower woodcarver and his gift of a new nativity set for a young boy. Again, beautiful illustrations. I have a hard time reading this one without crying.
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston, illustrated by Barbara Cooney. If you’re local to me, you should own some Barbara Cooney books. This one takes place in western North Carolina and tells the story of how little Ruthie and her momma provide the town with a Christmas tree while her daddy is away at war.
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. This one is for the grownups. David and I read this aloud every Christmas, and I’m partial to this gorgeously illustrated version:
If you’re looking for a picture book version of the actual Biblical text, you might like this one: The Story of Christmas. This has the King James Version of the Nativity story and beautiful paintings set against a black background.
For the Anglophiles
The BBC’s coverage of last year’s census is here: “Less than half of England and Wales’ population identifies as Christian.” To be certain, we are living in a time when there is decreasing social capital from identifying yourself as a Christian (culturally speaking) in the West.
Reads & Listens of the Week
O. Alan Noble on Lust: “Choosing to be content with the beauty of others existing outside of us is good and necessary. But I think it’s also necessary to go further and devote ourselves to a better desire, a beautiful object of desire that is endless and can fill us with the affirmation we crave. We need to shift our heart’s attention to a greater good.”
Aaron Armstrong gives us 3 Benefits of Writing Your Prayers. Some good reminders here.
I’m still chewing on this thought-provoking essay from Alissa Wilkinson on crime and living in New York City: The very human, very troubling stories we tell ourselves about crime. “I’m safer now in New York than nearly any other year I’ve lived here. Why don’t people believe it?”
I’m looking into “dumb phone” options recently. Does anyone have firsthand experience with the boringphone or the Light Phone? Does anyone have other options they like? Let me know in the comments. I already have a fairly stripped-back smartphone, and I can continue like that — I’m just evaluating other options.
…it’s a more extraordinary demonstration of humility for Christ to become a man than it is for him to die. It’s natural for a man to die, but unheard of for God to become a man. - Erik Raymond, He is Not Ashamed