One more shopping day to go. The store has been its usual nutty busy self these past few weeks. We've sold out of a lot of good books, but are having fun finding the right matches for the kids Santa is just starting to think about. Almost 200 of the new Star Wars movie books, which went on sale last Friday, have already sold.
In keeping with the season, I thought I'd mention one more nativity book. As you probably know from your mother, our parents' household always incorporated the Bible story of Christmas into our non-religious life. My interpretation of that as a grown-up is that if you're going to get all the pagan and commercial benefits of the holiday, you need to acknowledge the religious underpinnings too. In 1950s Pleasantville, this meant staging a nativity pageant in our living room. Two of us would be Joseph and Mary, Judy's doll Annie played Jesus every year, and the third child would read relevant Bible passages aloud. Someone would play whatever instrument he or she was learning at the time, and there would be some giggling about the King James wording.
I've already written about my favorite nativity book for kids: Julie Vivas' exuberant Nativity. (That post is full of links to many of our other Christmas blog entries.) It's still the best. But here's another for the construction-minded child:The Christmas Story: The Brick Bible for Kids by Brendan Powell Smith. Yep, it's the nativity illustrated with tableaux of Lego figures. Smith seems to have the corner on many stories with Lego illustrations, including several Bible stories for kids, and more comprehensive Old and New Testaments for adults (circumcision in Lego: who knew it could be so vivid?).
The wording in this one leaves something to be desired. But the illustrations are a kick. Consider, for example, the progression of Mary's pregnancy, from annunciation (left), to Joseph's discovery of her condition (center) to the arrival in Bethlehem (right):
The baby ends up in a sort-of manger in a stable Joseph is trying to make livable:
Merry Christmas and much love to you and yours!
Deborah
Hello to Annie and Deborah,
ReplyDeleteI was a friend of Judy and John Thoms in the mid-1970s (my name then was Ellen Davis). I lived in NYCity on West 88th Street and worked at HBJ as a young editor in the textbook division. Deborah, I think I stayed with you in S.F. in 1977, when I first arrived .. a sad time in your life. I just want to send greetings across the ether, my very best to Judy and John (whom I've lost touch with, sadly), and blessings to all of you. Annie, I saw your name on a column on tonight's PBS NewsHour and sat up straight -- I knew it was you. I knew you as a baby. Anyway, no need to take this any further except to please pass on my love to Judy and John; I hope they are well. I have retired from a career in editing software documentation and now live in Austin, TX. -- Ellen Perry perryfree@gmail.com