Seasons Greetings from metomi.com, your online source of great reads and activities for children! Looking for a great children's book for the holidays? Here we reflect on the wonders of the season, the love of family and friends and the spirit of giving. Join our friend Bear as he celebrates a special time of year with his friends, watch the transformative powers of giving on a greedy king and reflect on the joy of being loved through the eyes of a stray cat. Happy Reading and please have a look at our Children's Library for more great books!
Title: The Quiltmaker's Gift
Author: Jeff Brumbeau
Illustrator: Gail De Marcken
A longer children's book but one of our favourites! The story so brilliantly captures the essence of giving to others. We meet a greedy king who surrounds himself with splendid material things, (literally) at the expense of his people. Everyone obediently gives the King gifts ... except, as he discovers, a fine quiltmaker known far and wide for making and giving away beautiful quilts to the disadvantaged. Despite his threats, she refuses to present him with such a gift ... unless the King agrees to give away all of his things. Children watch the power of giving bring help to the less fortunate and bring an amazing transformation in the King. Sumptuous illustrations are a feast for young readers (and some of us older kids too!).
Title: Bear Stays Up for Christmas
Author: Karma Wilson
Illustrator: Jane Chapman
Another children's story from the wonderful Bear series by Karma Wilson! Bear's friends would love for him to spend Christmas with them, but there's one small catch: as much as Bear would love to, his instinct is to hibernate over the winter, which of course includes Christmas Day! Nevertheless, the ambitious friends make every attempt to keep Bear awake...to the point of exhaustion! Will Bear be able to stay up? Will it be a wonderful Christmas day? We adults can already guess the ending but this charming book makes us want to follow along with our children anyway.
Title: The Hat
Author/Illustrator: Jan Brett
The Hat is a lovely little children's story set against a wintry farmyard backdrop. A curious hedgehog becomes tangled in a young girl's knit stocking that had been hanging from a clothesline. Despite his attempts to get it off, the stubborn stocking stays put. Much to his embarrassment, his fellow animal friends start to poke fun at him. However, his attempts at convincing them that the stocking is actually functioning in the legitimate role of winter accessory gives the other animals food for thought ... and interesting ideas of their own! A sweet, simple and fun children's story for the season with pretty, detailed illustrations.
Title: The Cookie-Store Cat
Author/Illustrator: Cynthia Rylant
Another favourite from our children's library: we have read this book to our children many, many, times. There is a softness and sweetness to the drawings that nicely complements the soothing text. We meet a stray cat who has been taken in by a kind baker of wonderful treats. She lives an idyllic life in her cookie store and neighbourhood surrounded by friendly fellow storeowners and cookie-loving children who adore her. We follow our new friend on a typical day, with rituals and occurrences which seem so ordinary yet (something returning visitors to metomi.com know we cherish) so extraordinary. We stop to appreciate the beauty in her everyday moments and some of that learning rubs off in a non-preachy way. And of course, the delicious treats mentioned in the book (including Santa Claus face cookies!) are available in recipe form at the back, which look ultra-sweet and which the kids keep reminding us to try!
Title: It's Winter
Author: Linda Glaser
Illustrator: Susan Swan
Readers will enjoy this interpretation of the joys of winter as seen through the eyes of the young girl (and main character) in this story. We follow her as she explores the magic of the season: the first snowfall, a walk through brush and field and ice covered ponds with hibernating creatures nearby...and of course, sledding with a friend. The rhyming text works in clever ways and the illustrations evoke the right mood. This children's book is one in a series and we look forward to reading the others!
We set our books down for a moment and reflect on our fortunes: good health, family, freedoms. If you're looking for a way to give back, we've discovered that giving has recently gotten easier. Many charities now make it easier to give online. Some of our favourites are Sick Kids Foundation, CanadaHelps (which gives you an easy way to give online to many registered Canadian charities), GiveMeaning (which gives you ways to help smaller non-profit endeavours within your community) and Unicef.