The Twelve Tomes of Christmas

It being December, it will come as no surprise that I have been reading the usual array of Christmas books. Herewith the brief reviews:

1. Dickens, A Christmas Carol. I have read this every single year for I do not know how many years (20?). I love it. This year, following up on the Wind and the Willows experiment, I read it a chapter a night. The book is still amazing, but it is much better to read it all in one night. If you have never read it, then you simply must do so at the first available opportunity.

2. Babes in Toyland. After reading my maudlin tale of this movie, Aimee (who for reasons heretofore unexplained comments on this blog using her son Noah's blogger account) and her family tracked down a copy of the book. I was stunned; it was exactly the same book I had when I was a kid--I haven't seen those pictures for over 30 years, yet as soon as I opened the book, I recognized them. After rereading the book, it is no wonder I wanted to see the movie so much as a kid--it had everything an 8 year old boy would love---maps and mother goose characters and villains and talking trees and toys and soldiers and a big battle. Thanks Gould Family!

3. Wojciechowski, The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey. A relatively new entry into the Christmas book canon, but a worthy addition. Great illustrations and a wonderful story.

4. The Gospel of Matthew, chapters 1-2. A relatively old entry into the Christmas book canon. The wise men story is the highlight. And Herod is a magnificent villain--the slaughter of the innocents is a part of the Christmas story which really should be more regularly included--it adds much to the amazing fact of the birth and survival of the hero of the story.

5. The Gospel of Luke, chapters 1-2. The best of all the Christmas books. The Magnificat is amazing and nothing can beat the story of the Joseph and Mary and the inn and the manger and the shepherds. This (and Matthew too) are best read in the King James Version at Christmas.

6. The Gospel of John, chapter 1. A nice bit of poetic prose which marvelously puts the point of the previous two books (and, really the whole point of Christmas) into cosmic perspective.

7. Schultze, A Charlie Brown Christmas. The book version of the TV special. When Linus walks out on stage and relates the story of the shepherds, it is always a shock to realize this was made for commercial television. When was the last time a commercial television Christmas special for kids quoted Scripture? The TV show is better than the book.

8. Robinson, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. A funny story with a rather nice ending; it is easy to forget the power of the Christmas story when one has heard it so often.

9. Johnson, The Candle in the Window. OK, but not great. The whole story is far too predictable and Gunther is seriously schizophrenic is the story.

10. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. A classic.

11. Favorite Christmas Poems. I just bought this book this year. It is a really nice collection of classic poetry relating to Christmas. As of now, it is a yearly staple.

12. Eliot, "The Journey of the Magi." Well, it's not really a book. But, a) it is not included in the previously listed book, presumably for copyright reasons and b) it is my favorite Christmas poem.