Tag: Christmas

“Stars of Wonder” by Rebecca Dwight Bruff – Review

By: Angie Haddock

Five curious kids set out on an adventure that will teach them the value of wonder, gratitude, joy and love.

–Goodreads

Another fun, short holiday read! This one is a children’s book – it comes in around 50 pages, divided into 3 chapters, with some sporadic but lovely illustrations. I would think it would appeal to parents of kids in early elementary school.

In this version of the Nativity story, five young travelers from the East follow the bright star to see what wonder it leads to. There are three brothers, who are princes, and their sister, the princess. They also bring along a friend, whose family takes care of their camels… because, obviously, they need a camel.

The camel gets injured, though, during an attack by mountain lions. So the friend and the princess stay back with the camel, near a spring, where they have water and a good view of the terrain around them. The three boys continue the journey, and promise to come back the same way to reconnect with the other two.

Both groups – and their parents, who head out to look for them – encounter some tricky situations along the way. The author pauses during these times and asks the readers what they would do, forcing them to take note of the lesson being set up in each situation.

This book is available in paperback, hardcover, or ebook. I was gifted a copy through the team at Books Forward.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

“The Case of the Disappearing Beaune” by J. Lawrence Matthews – Review

By: Angie Haddock

Christmas morning, 1901: Sherlock Holmes discovers that the wine in a bottle of French Beaune (intended as a gift for Dr. Watson) has been switched with sand, and he suspects it means threat to the newly crowned King of England. Or does it?

–Goodreads

What better way to kick off December than with a Sherlock Holmes short story that takes place on Christmas?! This one came out in September of this year, so it is still a relatively new release – and maybe flew under the radar of the Holmes fans out there.

We start with Dr. Watson heading over to Sherlock’s home on Christmas morning, with the task of inviting him to Christmas dinner. Sherlock has always turned him down in the past, but Watson’s wife wants him to ask anyway.

As they exchange gifts, though, Sherlock’s intended bottle of wine for Watson has been exchanged for a bottle of sand. And so, as they say… the game is afoot!

This short novella follows our main characters as they race around London trying to find out who knows what, and what it all means. We hear about many of the expected Holmes characters – Mrs. Hudson, Mycroft, Lestrade – without actually encountering them until the very end.

And no, I won’t give away the ending.

This one is available both in paperback and e-book editions. A perfect little stocking stuffer for any mystery lover.

Thanks to the team at Books Forward for sending me the e-book for review.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

“Old Christmas” by Washington Irving – Review

BY: Angie Haddock

Old Christmas is a tale of the quaint and old English traditions of celebrating Christmas. Irving travels to the English countryside and meets an old schoolmate, who invites him home to spend Christmas at the family estate.

–Goodreads

I’m a big fan of Christmas, but admittedly I’d never read much Christmas-related material. There’s no time like the present, though?

If the name Washington Irving sounds familiar, it’s because he wrote “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” He was American, but this story takes place in England.

The first part is the author/narrator philosophizing on how great old Christmas traditions were, many of which were falling out of fashion. (One has to wonder what he’d think of Christmas today!) The story is told in first person, and the narrator is traveling. He comments on the scenery and other travelers, and then is invited by one Frank Bracebridge to join him at his father’s estate to celebrate Christmas the “old-fashioned” way.

The rest of the story goes through the festivities of the night of their arrival, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. There are many foods and drinks described – did you ever want to know what goes in wassail? – as well as clothes, songs, and church outings.

Some charming passages:

“…they bring with them the flavour of those honest days of yore, in which, perhaps with equal fallacy, I am apt to think the world was more home-bred, social, and joyous than at present.”

“I do not know a grander effect of music on the moral feelings than to hear the full choir and pealing organ performing a Christmas anthem in a cathedral, and filling every part of the vast pile with triumphant harmony.”

“If, however, I can by any lucky chance, in these days of evil, rub out one wrinkle from the brow of care, or beguile the heavy heart of one moment of sorrow; if I can now and then penetrate through the gathering film of misanthropy, prompt a benevolent view of human nature, and make my reader more in good humour with his fellow-beings and himself, surely, surely, I shall not have written in vain.”

As is always the case when reading an older text, there were various words I had to look up. But something else I found interesting was that, once upon a time in England, Christmas had been banned! (Read more about that here and here, if you’re so inclined.) I find this whole thing funny, since so many overly-enthusiastic evangelicals think there’s a “war on Christmas” in our times.

This is a short read and, as long as you’re ok with some old language, a sweet and warm little story.

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.