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Holidays

Merry and Bright

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Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

Merry Smith has family obligations to her brother with Down Syndrome, aging parents and her brother’s golden retriever.  She struggles to keep up with her job with a consulting firm at the Boeing Company.  She has no time for a social life but her mother and brother create a profile on an online dating service and she starts to accumulate many matches.  When Merry begins chatting with a stranger online she discovers that they have similar interests.  The chats soon become the best part of her day but she is reluctant to meet her mystery man.  This holiday story will be the perfect way to brighten your spirits.

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Monster Needs a Christmas Tree

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Submitted by Ms. Brenda!

In Monster Needs a Christmas Tree by Paul Czajak, Monster sets out to get a Christmas tree. On the way to the tree lot, so many joyful things keep Monster from his mission. Sitting on Santa’s lap, sled riding, snowman building, with the inevitable snowball fight, and general snow merriment are hard to resist! Monster was having so much fun that when he finally got to the tree lot the last tree was being carried off by someone else. OH, NO! It was a long and sad walk home, but once he got inside, Monster had a brilliant idea! He gathered every houseplant he could find and he “built” a one-of-a-kind Christmas tree. Now, I wonder if Santa will leave Monster a present under his homemade tree. Take a fun-filled, rhyming romp with this book and find out! See this book listed in our catalog

Santa’s Stuck

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Submitted by Ms. Carol!

Santa’s Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene is a funny Christmas story about Santa Claus. Santa is almost done but before he heads up the chimney he decides it can’t hurt to have just one more cookie. Santa takes a break and sits back and has a feast. He eats so much his buttons pop. When Santa finishes he heads back up the chimney to the waiting reindeer. The reindeer suddenly hear Santa yell “Help!” Oh no. Santa is stuck. Dog hears Santa and runs downstairs to see what is going on and he sees Santa’s boots dangling from the chimney. Dog tries to push Santa while the reindeer try to pull, but no luck, Santa is stuck. Soon Mama cat and all her kittens join in and try to help Dog push, but no luck, Santa is stuck. Next little mouse tries to help but Santa just isn’t budging. Mouse has a bright idea. Will Mouse’s idea work? Will Christmas be saved? Read this humorous story to find out. See this book listed in our catalog

Little Santa

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Submitted by Ms. Sue!

Little Santa written and illustrated by Jon Agee is a story of how Santa came to be. Little Santa and his family of nine, if you include his parents and all his sisters and brothers, live in the North Pole. Life is hard there with plenty of chores to be done like chopping wood, ice fishing, stoking fires, and quilt mending. Everyone is miserable except little Santa. He loves everything about life at the North Pole. One winter the family decides to move to Florida. Santa is not happy about that. The next morning the house is buried under a huge snow drift during a snow storm. They are stuck in their house! The only way out is for Santa to shimmy up the chimney and go for help. Along the way Santa makes friends with a flying reindeer who helps him find a large house full of elves. The elves help his family and life is not so hard after that. Santa’s family still moved to Florida… But Santa stayed behind! See this book listed in our catalog

This Day In June

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Submitted by Ms. Amy!

With short rhyming text, and fun colorful illustrations, This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman PhD gives preschool and early elementary aged children and their favorite grown up a chance to experience an LGBTQ Pride Parade from the comfort of their own couch! Filled with balloons, children, happy marching people, dogs, motorcycles, fancy clothes, rainbows, and confetti, this book is a joyful celebration of a Pride parade, traditionally held during the month of June. Showing children that diversity is cause for celebration is a great way to both prevent bullying and reduce the impact of bullying on your child. I read this one with my 4-year-old, and we enjoyed talking about which fabulous shoes and dresses we liked best, finding the beautiful mermaid, counting doggies and balloons, and sharing hugs and kisses like the people in the parade. Written by a professor of psychology and women’s studies, this book also has carefully researched end pages which explain the history and significance of the words and pictures on each page, as well as recommendations for parents on ways to talk to different ages of children (3-5, 6-12, 13-18) about what it means to be LGBTQ, and how to answer children’s questions in age appropriate ways. See this book listed in our catalog

Small Medium & Large

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Submitted by Ms. Tammy!

Small Medium & Large by Jane Monroe Donovan. A little girl who has just moved into a new house writes a letter to Santa. She doesn’t ask Santa for new toys, but something more special. On Christmas morning she goes downstairs to find 3 boxes, each one a different size: one small, one medium, and one large. She opens the small box to find a cat, the medium a dog, and the large box contains a miniature horse! They head outside for a day of fun in the snow: sledding, making snow men and snow angels, and a snowball fight! After having fun they head indoors to bake fish and horseshoe shaped cookies, sit by the warm fire, and then snuggle into bed after writing a thank you letter to Santa. This almost wordless picture book is perfect for sharing with children one on one, or in a small group. See this book listed in our catalog