Getting in the Christmas Mood: Part 4- What is your favorite holiday film?

According to my talking Advent calender ( got three year ago, still works), it's five days until Christmas. Who's ready? ( For those curious about me, I have my artificial tree up and did the lights yesterday, some cookies made, just a little more to do.)


Anyway, so far, this holiday posting has covered songs, TV specials, and books of the holiday season. Tonight's post focuses on holiday movies. Like the TV specials, we look forward every Christmas to see George Bailey, Santa Claus, and Scrooge( of some form). What's your favorites? Do you favor the sweet, sentimental favorites? Do you favor holiday films that focus on the meaning of the season? Do you favor holiday romances? Or do you like Christmas movies of a different kind?

Here are my five ( along with a favorite scene or line):

1. A Christmas Story ( 1983)- A Hoosier holiday classic ( that TBS  will be running all day this weekend ).  Based off the writings of Hammond native Jean Shepard, all young Ralph  Parker wants for Christmas is Red Rider BB gun.  Favorite scene- Mom dressing Randy for school. ( " I can't put my arms down.")
2. Elf (2003)- Not really a Will Ferrell fan, but this is one of his good films. Ferrell stars as Buddy, an orphan raised by Santa's elves who comes to New York to meet his real father. Favorite scene- The store manager telling all the employee to get for Santa's arrival. ( "SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!")
3. Polar Express (2004)- Yes, the elves are a little creepy looking, but it's a very stunning adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's classic book about a young boy's magical train ride to the North Pole. Favorite scene- Hero Girl and Lonely Boy singing " When Christmas Comes to Town" 
4. White Christmas (1954)- Inspired by the 1941 song by Irving Berlin ( which was introduced in the film Holiday Inn and won the Oscar for Best Song the following year), this holiday classic stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as former WWII soliders/entertainers who, along with pair of singing sisters, plan a Christmas show at a Vermont inn owned by their former general. Favorite scene-The grand finale of the inn's Christmas show.
5. Prancer (1989)- This is an little known Christmas film ( and parts of it were filmed in LaPorte, Indiana).  A young girl named Jessica rescues a  injured reindeer who she believes is one of Santa's. Sam Elliot and Clois Leachman co-star. Favorite scene- Prancer and the farm animals escaping the barn and entering the house, unbeknown to the father ( Elliot) reading the newspaper, until it is too late.

Season's Greetings and keep reading!!

Getting in the Christmas Mood: Part 3- Holiday Books

Can you believe it's eight days til Christmas? Is everyone ready? ( I'm close, still have a tree to put up, cookies to make, and a few gifts to wrap.)

So since this blog is all about the library and books, today's holiday posting is... books. Of all juvenile holiday collections, our December holiday books is the biggest. ( How big? At last count, they cover about five shelves in our workroom/storage area. It seems to grow every January once  we put them away til next December.) Currently, they are all out for your check-out pleasure ( plus we have three smaller holiday-related displays- holidays around the world in non-fiction, Christmas chapter books, and craft cookbooks with a free bookmark/ornament by the entrance).

Here are some are my favorites-

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg- A boy takes a magical train ride to the North Pole to get a special gift from Santa. A Christmas classic.  ( Great to read on Christmas Eve.) 

I Want  A Hippopotamus for Christmas by John Rox- An illustrated version of the popular 1950's Christmas song about a child who wants a hippopotamus for Christmas.

 Oh What a Christmas! by Michael Garland- Santa must seek help from some barnyard animals when seperated from his reindeer midflight on Christmas Eve. NEW!!!

Clear Moon, Snow Soon by Tony Johnston- On Christmas Eve, a child anticipates the arrival of Santa Claus.

The Magical Christmas Horse by Mary Clark Higgins-  A young boy hopes to pass a treasured wooden horse to his little brother while spending the holidays at his grandparents' farm. NEW!!

Noel by Tony Johnston- The sounds of Christmas bells call people young, old, and very cold to come together and celebrate a very peaceful holiday.

Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer- Join Olivia the Pig as she and her family get ready for Christmas ( and hopefully not hurt Santa in the process.)

Santa Duck by David Milgrim- When Nicholas Duck find a Santa hat and coat, all the other animals mistake him for Mr. Claus ( Note- There is sequel called Santa Duck and his Merry Helpers, also by David Milgrim.)

Who Will Pull My Sleigh Tonight? by Jerry Pallota- Santa tries many different kinds of animals to pull his sleigh.

Christmas Eve Goodnight by Doug Cushman- On Christmas Eve, elves, robots, and more say good night to their mommies, daddies, and friends. NEW!!

Want more? Suggested keywords to use with "juvenile fiction", " juvenile literature", and " fiction" include:

• Christmas
• Christmas trees
• Santa Claus
• Kwanza
• Hanukkah
• Snowmen
• Jesus Christ--Nativity
• Christmas stories

Happy Holidays and keep reading!!

Getting in the Christmas Mood: Part 2- What is Your Favorite Holiday Special?

Ho-Ho Hello again,
So last week I mentioned a few of my favorite holiday songs ( actually before I leave that subject, I'm just going to mention a few runner-ups: All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey, Grown-up Christmas List by Amy Grant, and Christmas Time is Here from a Charlie Brown Christmas). Which leads to today's post-what is your favorite holiday special? Do you look forward every year from the beginning of November to Christmas re-watching the holiday specials of Rudolph, Frosty, and the Grinch or look forward to new ones, like Shrek and Hoops and Yoyo? Do you enjoy the sappy holiday romance movies of Hallmark, ABC Family, and Lifetime? Is there a favorite holiday-theme TV show? Or do you favor the really obscure that only aired once and now live on Youtube ( such as the cult favorite " Star Wars Christmas" where Carrie Fisher and crew help  Chewy and the Wookiees celebrate Life Day). I'd love to hear your favorites.

Here are my top five, with a mention of favorite scene or line:

1.  A Charlie Brown Christmas ( 1965)- Charlie Brown is depressed about the over-commercialization of Christmas till asked by Lucy to direct to the school's play. Will it put him in the Christmas spirit,or does he need the help of Linus and a little tree? Favorite scene- Lucy asking Snoopy to be all the animals, even a penguin ( which soon turns to mocking her and a kiss- " I've been kissed by dog lips".)
2. Frosty the Snowman ( 1969)- The popular song comes to live in this animated cartoon, featuring Jimmy Durante as the narrator. Favorite scene- The police officer swallowing his whistle after Karen, one of the school children, explains that Frosty just came to life and doesn't know a traffic light or lamppost is.
3. Rudolph's Shiny New Year ( 1976)- The famous red-nosed reindeer must find Happy, the Baby New Year, before New Year's Eve midnight. Favorite scene- Rudolph explains to Happy that everyone laughs at his big ears because it's makes them  feel happy.
4. Elmo Saves Christmas ( 1996)- After rescuing Santa from a stuck chimney, Elmo wishes for Christmas every day. But is it too much? Favorite scene- The Christmas/ Easter Bunny ( played by (Harvey Fierstein) singing about giving people Easter eggs for Christmas.
5. Hardrock, Coco, and Joe ( 1950s)- A Midwest holiday classic, this black and white cartoon about Santa's Elves airs every Christmas Eve and Day on Chicago WGN-TV Channel 9, along with Suzy Snowflake and Frosty the Snowman. Favorite part- The chorus, which goes
   

   Oh-lee-o-lay-dee, o-lay-dee-I-ay

   Donner and Blitzen, away, away

   Oh-lee-o-lay-dee, o-lay-dee-I-oh

   I'm Hardrock!

   I'm Coco!

   I'm Joe!

Happy Holidays and keep reading!!

Getting In the Christmas Mood!! Part 1- What is Your Favorite Christmas Song?

Hi readers,
 So I wanted to do a 25 days of reviews or something each day leading up to Christmas but saw it was not possible to do being part-time and all ( I prefer to do this blog on days that I work). Instead, each Tuesday will be about getting in the mood for the Christmas season. Today's post-what is favorite Christmas song? Yes readers, I'm inviting you to come post your favorite song you like  to listen to during this magical season.

What are my favorites? Well, I like lots but if I had to make a mix of my Top 5 favorites, they would be:

1. I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas- Gayla Peevey
2. Celebrate Me Home- Kenny Loggins
3. White Christmas-Bing Crosby
4. The Christmas Song-Nat King Cole
5. Merry Christmas, Darling- The Carpenters

Let the holiday season begin. Keep reading!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi boys and girls. I know it's early but just felt like wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and keep reading!


glitter-graphics.com

Happy Holidays 2011 programs

Here are our last programs of 2011 that will happening next month in the Children's Dept at the Central Library. Please visit Library Events for information and register.


Story Time for 2 and 3 yr olds- Monday, Dec. 5 at 10 am- Audience: 2 and 3 year olds and caregivers.

Mother Goose on the Loose-Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 10 am-Audience: Infants Birth to
23 months and caregiver (s).

Story Time for 4 and 5 yr olds- Tuesday,  Dec 13 at 10 am and 2 pm- Audience: 4 and 5 year olds.

Holiday Story Hour- Thursday, Dec 8 at 4-Audience: K-5 and families

Gaming Night- Wednesday, Dec 14 at 6 pm- Audience: 12 to 17 years old.

Lego Club- Tuesday, Dec 20 at 4pm- 2nd to 6th grade.

Note- All branches will be closed on Thursday, November 24 for Thanksgiving. We will be open the day after Thanksgiving, normal Friday hours.

Happy Holidays and see ya soon!!!

Bookworm List-Have a Party with Your Bear!!!

Boys and girls, do you have a special friend you call " Teddy"? Did you know they have a special day just for them tomorrow called " Have A Party with Your Bear"? Yep, they do. True, it's not as grand as say Christmas, but still it's nice to tell your bear ( or any stuffed animal) that you love them. So hug your bear, eat  a little cake ( perhaps with honey like Pooh Bear or marmalade like Paddington) , and have a "beary" good day tomorrow.

Want to have some " beary" good books? Here are a few titles you might on this month's display, located at the entrance of the children's department: ( for more, use the keywords "teddy bears" for juvenile fiction and literature.)

• Newton- Rory Tyger
• Corduroy-Don Freeman
• Return to The Hundred Acre Wood- David Benedictus
• Legend of The Teddy Bear- Frank Murphy

For a great site on teddy bears,  check out http://www.theteddybearmuseum.com/teddy-facts.htm

Have a beary good afternoon and keep reading!!

Review-Balloons over Broadway-Melissa Sweet

 

What are the things that make up Thanksgiving? Food, family, and floats. Yes, before heading to the relatives to fill up on turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, boys and girls get up around 9 am to watch Macy's annual three hour parade of balloons, Broadway shows, and the big man himself, Santa Claus for 85 years ( it was suspended in 1942-44 because of WWII). But how did it all begin?

In Balloons over Broadway, we are introduced to Tony Sarag ( which the author says " rhymes with aargh" on the first page),  who as a child, loved to make marionettes( which are puppets that are operated  by strings. When he grew up, he first moved to London, England to work as a puppeteer, then came back to the States to perform on Broadway. But then R. H. Macy,  founder of Macy's, heard about Sarag's puppets and asked Sarag to create some for the store's holiday window display. But Macy's had bigger plans: a parade for their employees, particularly the immigrants unable to return home for the holidays. So in 1924,  the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade of floats, clowns, and  live animals was born. But  as the parade got popular, having live animals became a bit  of a problem. So in 1927, Sarag was asked to replace the animals. How? With balloons that worked like upside-down marionettes.

Sweet uses various items, from collage to 3-D puppets, to tell the story behind one of Thanksgiving's traditions.  We even gets news clippings and additional background information about Sarag.

Balloons Over Broadway-Melissa Sweet
Age Range: 6-9
Lexile: 835
***** ( 5 stars)

Want to learn more about the parade? Visit the official website for history, games, plus information on who will be performing this year.

Review- Is Everyone Ready for Fun?- Jan Thomas

 

What happens when three cows decide to have some fun on a chicken's sofa? Lots of laughs... and a frustrated chicken.


This is a very fun ( and simple) story filled bright color and even bigger, brighter words for really young readers. This is also a good book to use toward the end of story time so the kids can get up off their bottoms and jump, dance, and wiggle with the cows.... on the chicken's sofa.  (Note: The toddlers I read the book to today sure enjoyed it, especially my chicken voice.)

And if you like this book, here are some of Thomas's other books:

• Can You Make a Scary Face?
•  The Doghouse
• Rhyming Dust Bunnies
• What will The Fat Cat Sit on?
• Birthday for Cow
• Here comes the Big,  Mean Dust Bunny

Is Everyone Ready for Fun-Jan Thomas
Age Range: 2 and up
***** ( 5 stars)

Review- But Who will Bell the Cats- Cynthia von Buhler

 

Once upon a time there was a princess and eight  pampered cats . There was also a mouse and a bat, who lived downstairs in the dark, drafty cellar. And the mouse wanted the same things at the cats: perfumed pillows, hot baths, and so much more. So he and the bat decide to bell the cats. Will they succeed?

This book does a great job in solving the Aesop fable ( which is featured at the beginning of book for not familiar with it) and providing a great lesson in kindness and determination. The artwork is really great too, and so is the book's website( http://butwhowillbellthecats.com/), which features games, information on fables, crafts ( such as making your own dollhouse diorama), and more.

But Who Will Bell the Cats- Cynthia von Buhler (Note- This book is available at the main Lowell library, but can be requested.)
Age Range- 3-7
Lexile: 775
***** ( 5 Stars)