This time of year, everyone wants to read a good Christmas story. For December’s staff recommendations, we have chosen three Christmas books, both classic and new, that you should give a try this holiday season.
How the Grinch Lost Christmas! by Alistair Heim
The Grinch is BACK and ready to prove to the residents of Whoville that he’s changed. This heartwarming sequel is written and illustrated in the style of Dr. Seuss’s beloved holiday classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! A year has passed since the Grinch stole Christmas from Who- ville. Now eager to prove to the Whos that his heart has grown to LOVE the holiday, the Grinch devises a plan to win Whoville’s Christmas Crown by making the largest, most spectacular Christmas tree the Whos have ever seen! But when things don’t go as planned, the Grinch’s heart turns ice cold, and he threatens to leave Whoville for good…until one small, special Who reminds him that Christmas is NOT about winning.
How the Grinch Lost Christmas! by Alistair Heim is available at both Fort Branch and Haubstadt and on Libby as an ebook.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
When A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843 it was an overnight success. None would achieve the cult status of A Christmas Carol, a book so popular it has become part of the landscape of the traditional Christmas, or produce a character as extraordinarily memorable. A celebration of Christmas, a tale of redemption and a critique on Victorian society, Dickens’ atmospheric novella follows the miserly, penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge who views Christmas as ‘humbug’. It is only through a series of eerie, life-changing visits from the ghost of his deceased business partner Marley and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future that he begins to see the error of his ways. With heart-rending characters, rich imagery and evocative language, the message of A Christmas Carol remains as significant today as when it was first published.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is available at Fort Branch and Haubstadt or on Libby as an e-book or audiobook.
Pretty Paper by Willie Nelson
More than fifty years ago, Willie Nelson’s beloved Christmas song Pretty Paper first hit the airwaves. And for all these years, Willie has wondered about the real-life Texas street vendor, selling wrappings and ribbons, who inspired his song. The week before Christmas, he spots a legless man on a cart, selling wares in front of Leonard’s Department Store in Fort Worth, Texas. The humble figure, by the name of Vernon Clay, piques Willie’s curiosity, but Vernon is stubbornly private and despite Willie’s charming queries has no interest in telling his story. Willie is tenacious, though, and he eventually learns that Vernon is a fellow musician, a fine guitarist and singer. When Vernon disappears, he leaves behind only a diary, which tells an epic tale of life-altering tragedies, broken hearts, and crooked record men, not to mention backroad honky-tonks, down-home cooking, and country songwriting genius. Deeply moved and spurred on by Vernon’s pages, Willie aims to give the man one last shot at redemption and a chance to embody the holiday spirit.
Pretty Paper by Willie Nelson is available at Fort Branch Library.