Chanukah - Picture book line-up

We STILL love our Christmas/Chanukah picture books! I sometimes think picture books are written as much for adults as they are for kids. We find that we enjoy them just as much, and Mane still loves them after all these years. This is the line-up for seven of the eight nights of Chanukah reading:

The Story of Hanukkah by Bobbi Katz & Illustrated by Linda Dockey Graves
In the Month of Kislev by Nina Jaffe & Illustrated by Louise August
Nine Spoons by Marci Stillerman & Illustrated Pesach Gerber
The Hanukkah Mice by Ronne Randall & Illustrated by Maggie Kneen
Elijah's Angel by Michael Rosen & Illustrated by Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson
Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco
The Tree of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco

8 Picture Books for 8 Days of Chanukah/Hanukkah

Tomorrow is the first night of Chanukah, which means it's the first of eight nights of double holidays in our house! This means we'll be lighting a lot more candles and bringing together our focus on the miracle of light...literal and figurative. We'll also be having a lot of fun, as Chanukah is a holiday of games, gifts & treats! Break out the gluten free jelly donuts, latkes & applesauce, and the Chanukah books, please!

This year we decided to do a picture-book-a-day Advent calendar. We combined it with our magnetic nativity calendar by placing a slip of paper inside each of the doors, along with the magnetic figures. The slip of paper has a book title, and that's the book we read after putting up the magnetic figure each day.

The First Six Magnets are up after last night...December 6th

A magnetic figure and a slip of paper behind each door

Because Chanukah is in the middle of Advent this year, I chose Chanukah books to write on the slips of paper for the 8 days of Chanukah. Here they are:

1. Hanukkah Haiku written by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Karla Gudeon

2. The Story of Hanukkah written by Bobbi Katz, illustrated by Linda Dockey Graves

3. Beni's First Chanukah written and illustrated by Jane Breskin Zalben

4. In the Month of Kislev: A Story for Hanukkah written by Nina Jaffe, illustrated by Louis August

5. The Hanukkah Mice  written by Ronne Randall, illustrated by Maggie Kneen

6. Nine Spoons: A Chanukah Story written by Marci Stillerman, illustrated by Pesach Gerber

7. Snow Crazy written and illustrated by Tracy Gallup AND Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening written by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers (Thess, of course, are not specifically Chanukah books. They're seasonal books, and I wanted to include them in the list somewhere because they're so sweet and beautiful.)

8. Hanukkah Moon written by Deborah da Costa and illustrated by Gosia Mosz

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Read about why we celebrate Chanukah here: Why Celebrate Chanukah?

Picture Book Advent List

Here's our list for a-picture-book-a-day Advent calendar. (Keeping in mind that Dec. 8th-Dec. 15th is Chanukah.) My plan is to have a slip of paper in the matchbox Advent calendar with the title of the book. Then we'll go find it on the shelf & read it. I opted for doing this, rather than wrapping all the books in order to save paper!

Matchbox Advent Calendar

1. You Are Special written by Max Lucado, illustrated by Sergio Martinez - While this is not technically an Advent, Christmas or Chanukah story, I love the message that each of us is loved and special. This is, after all, why the Messiah was sent..."for God so loved the world..." And this is why we celebrate Advent.

2. Old Turtle written by Douglas Wood, illustrated by Cheng-Khee Chee - Again, not technically a book for the season, but, again, communicating that something went desperately wrong with the world and the Messiah was sent for our redemption.

3. Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend written by Julie Stiegemeyer, illustrated by Chris Ellison - This is my favorite children's book for explaining how Santa Claus came to be.

4. Wonderworker: The True Story of How St. Nicholas Became a Legend written by Vincent Yzermans - We don't intend to read this whole book. I intend to skim it for highlights and show off the pictures.

5. D is for Dala Horse written by Kathy-jo Wargin, illustrated by Renee Graef

6. The Legend of Old Befana written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola

7. The Night of Las Posadas written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola

8. Hanukkah Haiku written by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Karla Gudeon

9. The Story of Hanukkah written by Bobbi Katz, illustrated by Linda Dockey Graves

10. Beni's First Chanukah written and illustrated by Jane Breskin Zalben

11. In the Month of Kislev: A Story for Hanukkah written by Nina Jaffe, illustrated by Louis August

12. The Hanukkah Mice  written by Ronne Randall, illustrated by Maggie Kneen

13. Nine Spoons: A Chanukah Story written by Marci Stillerman, illustrated by Pesach Gerber

14. Snow Crazy written and illustrated by Tracy Gallup

15. Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening written by Robert Frost, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

16. The Wild Christmas Reindeer written and illustrated by Jan Brett

17. The Berenstain Bear's Christmas Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain with Mike Berenstain

18. The Littlest Angel written by Charles Tazewell, illustrated by Paul Michich

19. Trouble with Trolls written and illustrated by Jan Brett

20. Christmas Trolls written and illustrated by Jan Brett

21. Owl Moon written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr

22. 12 Days of Christmas written and illustrated by Jan Brett

23. A Forest Christmas written and illustrated by Mayling Mack Holm

24. The Night Before Christmas written and illustrated by Jan Brett

25. The First Christmas written and illustrated by Carol Heyer

(I have made every effort to link to books and book descriptions through author websites. For some links, you will need to scroll through a list of books by the author to find the specific book I have mentioned. I believe that all of the books are available for purchase online, though they may not be available directly through the author's website.)

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This is the 5rd post in a series of posts about Advent, Christmas, Jesse Tree & Chanukah traditions. See the other posts here:
Season's Traditions
Jesse Tree

Elf on the Shelf, Random Acts of Kindness, and other Christmas Traditions

Advent Calendar - In Picture Books!

Advent Calendar - In Picture Books!

Another fun & fabulous Advent idea for those who love books and want to fill the season with stories and snuggly, book-reading memories:

A Picture Book a Day Advent Calendar

Wrap up twenty-five picture books. Open one book each day until Christmas, snuggle up and enjoy the story! (These can be books you already own or even books from the library!)

The following bloggers have compiled lists of the books they have used:

ShelfTalker
Our Home on the Range
A Striped Armchair
Sarah Jane

TOTALLY OFF TOPIC (sort of): While I was searching for book lists, I ran across this Rocking Chair artist: Hal Taylor. I think you should check out his website, too! He makes a rocking chair with arm seats for little people to look over your shoulder while you're reading.

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This is the 4rd post in a series of posts about Advent, Christmas, Jesse Tree & Chanukah traditions. See the other posts here:
Season's Traditions
Jesse Tree

Elf on the Shelf, Random Acts of Kindness, and other Christmas Traditions