ANOTHER CHRISTMAS BOOK FOR CHILDEN'S CORNER

My second Christmas pick for Children's Corner is The Bear's Christmas by Brigitte Frey Moret and Alexander Reichstein. Beautifully illustrated this is the story of how a hungry bear in search of food received two very special gifts on Christmas night.

Published by NorthSouth in 1998, this hardcover edition is available on Amazon. Recommended for ages 5 and up.

http://www.amazon.com/Bears-Christmas-Brigitte-Frey-Moret/dp/1558589716/ref=reader_auth_dp

A POST THANKSGIVING TALE

Our post Thanksgiving tale concerns three tails those belonging to our cousins' cats. We spent a great day together and I'm sure you recall from my previous post Artie and I were looking forward to seeing everyone (the cats especially) again. I say the cats especially because we enjoy Lucky's company, admire Athena's beauty and were anxious to find out if Midnight would favor us with an appearance.

Lucky is now 19 years old. She spent most of the day sleeping. While we were cleaning up after dinner, she came up from the basement wanting to be let out for a bit of sun and her afternoon walk. It was then I noticed Lucky was moving slower with a bit of a back-leg limp. She's in remarkably great shape for her age. After sunning herself on the backyard deck, she walked slowly down the stairs around to the front of the house for a brief excursion before returning home for another nap.

Athena is the same. Like other great beauties she carries herself with a regal presence while retaining an imperial air. She is still standoffish and I always have the distinct impression she prefers not to interact with us.

Alas, Midnight was a no-show again this year. She has integrated herself into her new family by bonding with Lucky (Athena will have nothing to do with her) and by gracing the humans with her presence but I guess company is still too much for her to handle. In short, we couldn't find her anywhere so we returned home without so much as a glimpse of her. We had great fun with our human family, enjoying great conversation along with a wonderful meal. Who knows, maybe next year we will have better luck and finally get to meet Midnight as well.

Her Royal Highness Athena holding court in the living room.

Lucky curled up in her favorite chair.

CHILDREN'S CORNER FOR CHRISTMAS

I've decided to review a children's book each week in December. The criteria for each title is simple, the books must be about animals and Christmas.

Today's title is Merry Christmas, Old Armadillo by Larry Dane Brimmer and Dominic Catalano. A wonderfully heartwarming picture book about love, friendship and the giving spirit of Christmas. Old Armadillo falls asleep alone on Christmas Eve but will awake to an unexpected surprise. The book depicts Christmas in the Latino culture is written for ages 4 - 7, preschool through first grade.

A 1995 publication by Boyds Mill Press, Old Armadillo is a Christmas Classic, perfect for little ones and a great book to include in your collection of Christmas titles. This title is available on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Merry-Christmas-Armadillo-Larry-Brimner/dp/1563973545/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424897732&sr=1-2&keywords=old+armadillo

THE HOLIDAYS ARE ALMOST HERE!

The holidays are fast approaching with Thanksgiving just around the corner. We will be visiting our cousins in New Jersey this year. Of course, we are looking forward to our visit as we always do.

No driving for us, we checked the train schedules in preparation for our trip. Next, I have to shop for chocolates to bring for the dessert portion of our meal. We also bring a bouquet of flowers for our cousins to add to the holiday table as well as a few "thanks for inviting us" gifts.

Seeing our three feline cousins is a treat we always anticipate. You never know what they will do - for the most part anyway.  Athena is predictable as she is aloof and most likely will spend her time lounging on the bed in the master bedroom. Lucky, on the other hand, will come to sit between us on the living room couch as we have cider and appetizers before dinner. One will never know what Midnight will do from year to year. 

Midnight was a feral our cousins took in after my cousin-through-marriage Mom moved out of state. The first Thanksgiving she hid in the basement. I managed to catch a glimpse of her by remaining quiet until she came out thinking everyone retreated above stairs. Each year midnight takes a new step towards integrating herself with the family. She has progressed to coming upstairs when the house is quiet, then coming up when the humans are about, to trying to make friends with the other cats who ignored her. The last we heard, Lucky and Midnight are pals which is great. They spend time together.

So this year I'm hoping Midnight will decide to visit us instead of retreating to the basement as she's done in years past. I guess we'll find out a week from tomorrow whether or not this little black cat will accept us as part of her family and join us during the festivities.

courtesy Webweaver