St. Nick's Book Picks
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Reviews on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 12:00 PM
On his feast each year, St. Nicholas brings the kids candy and a book to aid our Advent observance.
Now that we’ve had a chance to read them, I thought I’d highlight some of his more successful choices this year.
If you loved The Weight of a Mass,
the same author/illustrator team has a new title out about Our Lady: Take It to the Queen: A Tale of Hope
Little people will find it harder to follow the elaborate analogy of faith than with its predecessor, but it is beautifully illustrated and still very worthwhile.
Good St. Nicholas brought a copy for my little guys & I picked it up for a god-child. It’s beautiful!
Our little boys are having fun, too, with J.R.R. Tolkien’s Letters From Father Christmas.
It’s not a religious book—just a collection of letters and illustrations Tolkien sent to his kids while they were young. The illustrations are charming and the stories are funny.
We’ve also enjoyed reading some short stories from Henry Van Dyke, whose The Story of the Other Wise Man you probably know. Our 11 and 12-year-olds have enjoyed The Mansion
Those were St. Nick’s picks. Here are some other books I heartily recommend.
If you know a young person entering the job market for the first time—or anyone who needs some help making business correspondence not only correct but effective—he or she will appreciate Claire Scrivener’s Survival Writing (How to write letters, resumes, pitches, invoices, emails, articles, reports and everything else you need to know how to write.)
Full disclosure: my brother illustrated the volume and Claire’s a personal friend. I have a clear conscience recommending it, however. It’s not only lucid and informative, but engaging and truly funny as well. (My favorite chapter is “The 10 Most Horrible Letters You Have to Write.”)
We have a 12-year-old son who is a hard fit, literature-wise. He likes adventure but not battle scenes (so much for Redwall, Narnia & Tolkien—all of which he read under duress), is practically allergic to anything didactic (he can sniff out a moral a mile away), and has already read all the Robert Louis Stevenson there is many times over.
So we’re always on the hunt for something truly “boyish” that he’ll actually enjoy reading. This summer we scored with The Hidden Treasure of Glaston, which my husband had on his shelves from when he was a kid. It’s the story of Hugh, a lame boy who’s left behind at a monastery when his knight father is unjustly exiled from England. His work in the monastery library leads him to discover King Arthur’s tomb—and more. Dennis read it aloud to all of us this summer and we all loved it—even the hard to please J-P.
Have you discovered Fr. Jacques Philippe yet? His Interior Freedom is my current recommend-and-give-to-everyone book. It’s a breezy little read that will change your life. A woman I gave it to last summer told me just yesterday that she loves it so much she’s read it three times. Fr. Philippe has a series of little aids to prayer that are all worthwhile. Searching for and Maintaining Peace is likewise a gem.
Of course, there must be some frivolity, so here are a few items that caught my eye.
I’m thinking about this Cross of Glory locket for our daughter. When I was her age (11), there was something almost magical about a locket. I’m not even certain why—probably something I picked up from a story somewhere.
She can keep herself (or herself and several friends) occupied for hours with these Paper Fashions (Klutz)
I’m not sure I have the guts to get Forbidden Lego: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You Against!
For family play, here’s a game that didn’t make it into Danielle’s master list but is great fun: Last Word.
There you have my suggestions—please don’t tell my kids.
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