Book Description: 'Twas December 24th, and three brave knights were just settling in for the night when out on the drawbridge, there arose such a clatter! The knights try everything to get rid of this unknown invader (Santa Claus!), a red and white knight with a fleet of dragons . . . But nothing would stop their white-whiskered foe. No matter their efforts, he just would not go! This parody of Clement Clarke Moore's well-known poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas is kid-friendly, clever, and just plain silly. Sure to become a holiday classic of a different kind!
My Review: I am a fan of Joan Holub's books for children. They are told with such good humor and such clever word play. I knew The Knights Before Christmas would be another fun book for children, and it is!
This book is a parody of The Night Before Christmas, set in a medieval castle with knights. It is bright and colorful, with great illustrations by Scott Magoon.
The humor is fresh and breezy. What a fun book for a home or classroom read aloud!
To give an example of the humor:
"Silent Knight, in his nightie and iron-armored cap, was just settling in for a long winter's nap." There is an illustration of the knight dreaming: "I'm dreaming of a white javelin, just like the one I used to throw."
I enthusiastically recommend this cute and clever children's book for your Christmas collection.
About the Author: Joan Holub is the author of 140+ books for children including the acclaimed picture books Little Red Writing, The Knights Before Christmas, and Mighty Dads, a New York Times bestseller. Joan co-authors (with Suzanne Williams) three series: Goddess Girls (ages 8-12, Greek mythology with a middle school twist), Grimmtastic Girls (for ages 8-12, fairy tale adventure with a middle school twist), and Heroes in Training (ages 6-11, Greek mythology adventure chapter books). Watch for her upcoming chapter book, What Was Woodstock?, and her board book, This Little President, both available in early 2016!
Book Synopsis Travel through the alphabet with this beautiful rhyming storybook that
tells the story of Jesus’ birth. Begin with the angel who tells Mary
that she is God’s chosen vessel and follow along until you reach the
zillions of stars that paled in comparison to the star that announced
the birthplace of the newborn King. Beautifully illustrated and written,
this book will be a classic for parents to read to their children every
Christmas season. My Review M is for Manger is a lovely picture book for children about the birth of Christ. The Christmas story is told in chronological order with an ABC format. Each letter has an illustration, a short narrative, and a Bible verse. For instance:
"A is for Angel. An Angel said to Mary, 'You are the favored one. You're going to have a baby boy, and he will be God's Son.'" "The angel told her ... 'You have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son.' (Luke 1:30 - 31, NLT)."
This is a perfect read aloud, great for home, Sunday school, or a church preschool. The illustrations by Claire Keay are sweet and charming, sure to appeal to young children. I highly recommend this book for the Christmas season. I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for an honest review.
Do you remember cardboard fireplaces? These were popular in the 1960's and 1970's. The picture above is from the 1969 Sears catalog. They were made out of corrugated cardboard, with andirons and a fake fire. We never had one, and I'm not sure I ever saw one at anyone's house, but I certainly remember them from catalogs and magazine photos during my childhood. You'll see another couple of vintage cardboard fireplaces below:
This one even has retro decorations and gifts:
I was surprised to find these are still made (they are on Amazon). I love holiday decorations this vintage, and am going to think about putting one of these up - with a retro theme tree - next year. Let me know if you remember cardboard fireplaces. Do you have any retro decorations or ornaments up at your house? I'd love to hear from you in the comments, below.
ENTER THE CREATIVE WORLD OF J.S. BACH IN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED GUITARIST STEVEN HANCOFF’S GROUNDBREAKING FOUR-VOLUME E-BOOK: BACH, CASALS AND THE SIX SUITES FOR ’CELLO SOLO
A Totally Immersive Multimedia Experience
Richly Detailed Text Embedded with More Than 1,000 Illustrations Illuminating Bach’s Masterpiece, from Its Creation to Its Legacy Bach, Casals and the Six Suites for ’Cello Solo and 3-CD set Audio Recording of ’Cello Suites to be Released June 23rd
Exclusively on iTunes and CD Baby Includes Hancoff’s Complete Recording Of His Acoustic Guitar Transcription of Bach’s ’Cello Suites From tragedy to transcendence is the theme that embodies the essence of the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach. “This man, ‘the miracle of Bach,’ as Pablo Casals once put it, led a life of unfathomable creativity and giftedness on the one hand and neglect and immense tragedy on the other,” says Hancoff. Bach’s life was rife with hardship and tragedy from the start. By the time he was nine years old, he had witnessed the deaths of three siblings and then, within a year, his father and mother also passed away.
For all his education and talent, however, his first job was serving as a lackey for a drunkard duke. Subsequently, he spent the next fifteen years in the employ of Weimar’s harshly ascetic Duke Wilhelm Ernst, who cared little for music. When he was twenty-two, he married the love of his live, his distant cousin, Maria Barbara Bach. During the thirteen years they were married, she bore him seven
children, three of whom died at birth. In 1717, Prince Leopold of Cöthen offered Bach a position as the musical director for Cöthen. Bach jumped at the chance. The officials of Weimar, however, threw him in jail for “the crime” of daring to resign his present position. Still, Bach was on the verge of a career breakthrough. Three years into his happy and contented tenure in Cothen, Prince Leopold and Bach visited the spa town of Carlsbad for a month of vacationing and music-making. Unfortunately, upon his return Bach learned of the death of his wife and then only when he entered into his home. Imagine the shock, the impact. He never even discovered the cause of death. Yet this tragic setback in Bach’s life was a major turning point because he came to grips with his personal tragedy by unleashing a flood of masterpieces for which he is and will be forever revered. First came the Six Violin Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo and then the Six Suites for ’Cello Solo.
In the ’Cello Suites we hear Bach expressing his own seeking, yearning, love, loss, sorrow, grief and determination and their overtones of surrender, resolution affirmation and transcendence. He aspired to articulate an ultimate personal confession, a revelation, entirely unique, entirely sublime, as an ultimate act of artistic and creative testimony, a heavenly statement about his own life and even of life itself—as a final gift and an enduring, heavenly send-off for his beloved wife. Bach, Casals and the Six Suites for ’Cello Solo invites readers and music lovers into a unique experience, contained in an immersive four-volume e-book from Steven Hancoff – a virtuoso musician’s restless, passionate, multimedia exploration of a musical masterpiece that only grows in stature almost three centuries after it was written. The many fascinating and inspiring aspects of the book include: • How Bach struggled and overcame adversity and the lessons his example offer us today. • The ultimate meaning of the Six Suites for ’Cello. • How almost all of Bach’s works would have nearly sunk into oblivion were it not for the extraordinary efforts of Sara Levy, the great aunt of Felix Mendelssohn, to rescue them. • How Felix Mendelssohn singlehandedly created with the performance of the St. Matthew Passion a Bach renaissance and a legacy that continues to be enjoyed to the present day. • The miraculous discovery of the six ’Cello Suites by Pablo Casals in a Barcelona thrift shop and why he studied them for twelve years before performing them in public. • What Pablo Casals meant when he spoke of “the miracle of Bach.” Bach, Casals and the Six Suites for ’Cello Solo promises to be an adventure for anyone fascinated by the enduring power of music, art and why they matter. Buy the music & ebooks: iTunes Subscribe to Steven's Hancoff's work on YouTube
A Note from Trish at View from the Birdhouse: I received a 2-CD set of this music from the author and publisher. It is beautiful, relaxing, and uplifting. I recommend it! Author's Bio:
Steve Hancoff began playing guitar when he was 13 years old, captivated by the folk music craze of the 1960s. Within a year he was performing in coffeehouses around Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
For nearly 15 years, he toured the world—about 50 countries—as an official Artistic Ambassador representing the United States of America. His recordings include Steel String Guitar, New Orleans Guitar Solos, Duke Ellington for Solo Guitar, and The Single Petal of A Rose. He is also the author of Acoustic Masters: Duke Ellington for Fingerstyle Guitar and New Orleans Jazz for Fingerstyle Guitar. He is a graduate of St. John’s College, home of the “100 Great Books of the Western World” program and has a Masters degree in clinical social work. He is a psychotherapist, a Rolfer, and a practitioner of Tai Chi. An avid hiker, he is also a member of the Grand Canyon River Guides Associations.
Connect with the author:
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Giveaway: Prizes:
50 2-disc CDs "The Six Suites for 'Cello Solo" (open to USA & Canada)
