Poetry in 2013
A Joyful Christmas: A Treasury of New and Classic Songs, Poems, and Stories for the Holiday compiled and illustrated by James Ransome. This was the first of our Advent poetry books. I love the illustrations of Ransome and read most (though not all) of the poetry from this book aloud.
Song of the Camels by Elizabeth Coatsworth tells the Nativity story from the point of the view of the camels of the Wise Men. You can read the poem online here or in Favorite Poems Old and New (a perfectly wonderful anthology). The illustrations are quite lovely and worth quiet pondering.The Night Before Christmas: A Magical Cut-Paper Edition by Clement Moore with illustrations by Niroot Putttapipat is one of many versions of this famous poem. I loved introducing it to my children, but we were very careful with the artwork as we read a library copy.
Do Rabbits Have Christmas? by Aileen Fisher is delightful and fun. The little girls loved it.
Sleigh Bells and Snowflakes: A Celebration of Christmas compiled and illustrated by Linda Bronson is a wonderful collection of poems and carols. The three-dimensional illustrations are brilliant and bright against the white pages.
Poetry in 2014
We only read through one book this year, taking our time and reading a few poems a week.
Christmas in the Stable poems selected and illustrated by Beverly Duncan is a book I requested from PaperBackSwap.com. I love the illustrations, especially the background borders on each page, which the illustrator explains in a note at the end of the book. We liked some of the poems better than others.
I've got a few selected for next year already, but leave a comment if you have other poetry recommendations for us.
I probably won't post again until after the New Year, so Merry Christmas and many blessings in the coming year!
Links to Amazon are affiliate links. We read from library copies except for Christmas in the Stable. If you sign up for PaperBackSwap.com and post ten books using this link, I receive a credit.
