Christmas Picture Book Review: Raven's Gift: A Feathered Flight of Faith by Claire Annette Noland

A unique and delightful story of the first Christmas is what young readers will find in Raven's Gift: A Feathered Flight of Faith by Claire Annette Noland.

Every night is ordinary as Raven looks out over the fields from his nest. Until one special night when light and angels fill the sky announcing the Savior's birth. Raven rushes off to tell the other birds, but is soon disappointed to find they all have a gift for the Christ Child while he fears he has nothing to give.

What a sweet story. Using a variety of birds found in the Bible, Noland shares a story of one bird celebrating the first Christmas with his feathered friends. Raven's Gift reminds us of the importance of using the talents we possess and sharing our gifts with the world.

Artist Desirée Cordón's stunning artwork brings this story to life alongside Noland's engaging text. I found her use of blues, pinks, and purples so enchanting.

If you are looking for a new way to share the story of the first Christmas with your little one, Raven's Gift is the perfect choice.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bless This Press (December 1, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 34 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 195637809X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1956378092

I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Giveaway Winners Announcement for Read and Rhyme The First Christmas

 

Congratulations to William G & Jessica B! Each one a copy of Read and Rhyme The First Christmas by Glenys Nellist. 

The winners have been notified. Thanks to all who participated in our giveaway. You can read more about this book at Goodreads and find links for where you can purchase your own copy. 

Christmas on Netflix: Angela's Christmas Wish (2020)

 

 

Angela's Christmas Wish came out in 2020 from Brown Bag Films and 9 Story Media Group, and was presented by Netflix. It is the second story with characters created by Frank McCourt. 

The story opens in Limerick, Ireland in 1913. Angela's dad takes a ship to Australia to find work. Two years later, on Christmas Eve, the family is all missing their dad, so Angela's mother tells them a story about a fat king and a skinny pauper who are each granted a wish by a genie. This gets Tom, Pat, and Angela thinking about what their mother would wish for at Christmas. 

Pat and Angela decide they must bring their father home for Christmas, which leads to several funny moments and a few disappointments. To help them with their quest is Dorothy, the wealthy daughter of the town veterinarian, who tells Angela that if she is able to bring her father home for Christmas, he will help poor McGinty's cow give birth. 

Clocking in at around 45 minutes, this animated special is as heartwarming as its prequel, Angela's Christmas. It explains why Dad is away, which I found helpful, since the one missing piece of the original film was what happened to Dad. We knew the family missed him in the first movie, but we didn't know if Dad was away, in jail, or dead. 

Like the first film, there is a subplot outside of Angela and Pat trying to bring their father home for Christmas. Well, there are a few in this one. 

• Angela hears her mother talking to the neighbor about a Christmas surprise, so she is hoping her mother is buying her that doll in the toy store window.
• McGinty needs a vet to help his cow give birth, but he can't afford him.
• Dorothy wishes that her father wouldn't work so much and would have time to spend with her.

As expected, everything works out for Angela, her family, and new friend. How could it be a tale of the Christmas season without a happy ending? 

While they did work more storylines into Angela's Christmas Wish than they did the original film, I felt it all flowed nicely together to make it a delightful movie.

I watched this movie on Netflix. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Christmas in the U.S.A. - New York City

 

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is seeing how different areas of the country decorate for the holidays. Whether it be our town, the eastern part of the state, or anywhere outside of Massachusetts, the lights, the decorations, and houses and stores decked out for the holidays lifts the spirits. 

Until the pandemic hit, our family used to visit New York City every December for an overnight trip. We stayed around Times Square, shopped, took in the sights, and sometimes bought tickets to the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. 

Rockefeller Center

Riding through Central Park

What are some places you enjoy visiting around Christmas?

Children's Holiday Little House Stories: A Little House Christmas, Volumes I & II by Laura Ingalls Wilder

A Little House Christmas complies some of the Christmas stories from Laura's Little House books into a lovely hardcover that collectors will certainly enjoy.



From Christmas in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, to the day Mr. Edwards delivered presents so that Santa didn't have to cross the creek, to the chapters of Christmas on Plum Creek where Laura received red mittens, the white China box, and the fur cape and muff off the tree at church, each story is just as special as when you first read it in the Little House books.

The illustrations by Garth Williams have been colorized to make this book an extra special treat for Little House fans, and also includes the words and music to Merry, Merry Christmas! by Mrs. T.J. Cook.

The jpeg of the cover art can't possibly do it justice, as Williams's illustration of Laura receiving her rag doll Charlotte is encircled by a wreath of holly.

While A Little House Christmas shares the Christmas stories of Laura's early days, A Little House Christmas, Volume II travels east to Malone, New York to share the story of Christmas at the Wilder farm with Almanzo as a boy and the aunts, uncles, and cousins came to dinner.



Then the book travels to the shores of Silver Lake, where Laura and her family are living in the surveyors' house, and on to Christmas in De Smet, SD, where the blizzards seem like they will never end and the trains won't run again until spring. And finally, we get to read the story of Almanzo's surprise return visit on Christmas Eve in These Happy Golden Years.

Again, collectors will find this large hardcover a welcome addition to their Little House library. The green cover is even more striking than the red from the first one, and the holly wreath encircles a picture of Ma fastening the little blue coat with the swan's-down collar on Grace and tying the swan's-down hood over her golden hair.

Little House fans will enjoy these books year after year and remember why Laura Ingalls Wilder's books continue to gain new fans so many years after they were first published.

Classic Christmas Stories for Children

We all have Christmas stories from our childhood that we still remember...some of us might even have a few of those classic storybooks in our houses now. Here are a few of my favorites.

   

Christmas is almost here, which means ice-skating, Christmas carols, and sparkly lights everywhere--even on Snoopy’s doghouse! Everyone is enjoying the holiday celebrations except Charlie Brown. Can the Peanuts gang help Charlie Brown discover the true meaning of Christmas?

This first one, I actually remember as an animated TV show. Each year it wouldn't be Christmas without watching A Charlie Brown Christmas. Decades later, it was released as a children's story.

 

Dr. Seuss's small-hearted Grinch ranks right up there with Scrooge when it comes to the crankiest, scowling holiday grumps of all time. For 53 years, the Grinch has lived in a cave on the side of a mountain, looming above the Whos in Whoville. The noisy holiday preparations and infernal singing of the happy little citizens below annoy him to no end. The Grinch decides this frivolous merriment must stop. His "wonderful, awful" idea is to don a Santa outfit, strap heavy antlers on his poor, quivering dog Max, construct a makeshift sleigh, head down to Whoville, and strip the chafingly cheerful Whos of their Yuletide glee once and for all. 

This is another story I knew as a TV show first, but we still have this book in our basement. I never quite understood the orange cover, but this is a must read each Christmas.

 

Based upon the poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," a father narrates this story of seeing Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. There are numerous versions of this story with a variety of illustrations. This is a pretty cover. I've also used the poem as inspiration for my own Christmas poetry.

 

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever follows the outrageous shenanigans of the Herdman siblings, or “the worst kids in the history of the world.” The siblings take over the annual Christmas pageant in a hilarious yet heartwarming tale involving the Three Wise Men, a ham, scared shepherds, and six rowdy kids.

Honestly, it took me a bit of time to warm up to this story, but now that I have, I love reading it from time to time. 

 

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry (a pen name for William Sydney Porter), about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been a popular one for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time. The plot and its "twist ending" are well-known, and the ending is generally considered an example of cosmic irony. This is another story that I had to warm up to. The message is wonderful, but I always felt it a tad too much for kids to handle. As an adult, I appreciate it a lot more.

What are a few Christmas classics you recall from your childhood?

Christmas Errors, Flubs & Fails: The Ultimate Christmas Fails Compilation | AFV 2022

 

America's Funniest Videos has kept us laughing for years. Here is their Ultimate Christmas Fails Compilation from 2022.