In the Church Library for Christmas

 

It’s time to be planning for Christmas! The church library has several versions of the traditional biblical story, as well as many contemporary stories with varied settings.

A few examples: Journey to Bethlehem by Akiko Kageyama and A Baby is Coming, by Daphna Flegal tell the biblical birth story. Both are beautifully illustrated, and the second book has the text in both English and Spanish. O Little Town of Bethlehem has the text of the hymn, with illustrations by Patrick T. McRae that picture a family preparing for and experiencing Christmas.

The library also owns titles with Christmas themes in more contemporary settings and experiences. A Northern Nativity by William Kurelek takes place in the dreams of a boy who sees the story unfold in various prairie and Eskimo settings. Four Candles for Simon by Gerda Marie Scheidl describes a shepherd boy looking for his lost lamb and finding it along with a baby in a manger. And most unusual, A Small Miracle by Peter Collington tells a story with no words at all, just a series of illustrations that show a starving old woman being rescued by townspeople after she used her last bit of strength to assemble a vandalized nativity scene in a village church.

The library’s collection of children’s books about Christmas are on a shelf to the left of the closet door.

~Carol Jensen, Church Librarian

:)