A friend of mine, Donna-Marie is a Usborne book seller and was offering a sweet deal on Christmas books. So of course I had to place an order. I had never ordered from Usborne before and I was really delighted with the products. First was The Usborne Book of Christmas Poems
When I opened the box this was the first book I saw and I was a little concerned. The cover gave me the impression that the book was cartoony and babyish. Well like the old adage advises, I should not have judged. There are a few child like poems, but they are sweet rather than syrupy and the wonderful surprise was Gerard Manley Hopkins, Christina Rossetti, GK Chesterton, Alfred Tennyson and many more. I was totally delighted.
This is a cute book. The crafts are secular but could easily be adapted to include religious themes. The directions are clear and the pictures are very helpful. We haven't tried the crafts yet but I will be doing a few with the children over the next few weeks and I will let you know how it goes. Included in the middle of the book are two pages of gold stickers, which when my four year old discovers will cover every sticker-able surface in my house.
Another good craft and activity book. This would work for an older child than Christmas Activities, the crafts are slightly harder. I like that the book is a large size and lays down flat. This will make referring to it during craft time much easier. The paper angel craft and the Christmas stocking ornaments are really cute.
The toddlers are going to enjoy this book. It tells the story of the Nativity. On each page there are sturdy cardboard images of each of the people and animals numbered 1 through 25. The children are supposed to pop out one each day beginning December 1st. There is even a stable. The Blessed Mother is 1 and the infant arrives on the 24th. It is a nice, simple rendering of the story and the bright pictures will really engage your younger children.
All in all I was really happy with my purchase and I will definitely be shopping Usborne again.
Recently came across some really cool stuffs at this amazing Christmas Blog at http://christmas4all.blogspot.com Check it out people... It's quite related..
Posted by: Sean Carter | October 12, 2006 at 11:45 PM
I love Usborne books! I was a distributor and I still miss my book shows and boxes of books arriving in the mail. This post reminds me to start looking for my Christmas books...I still have the cut-out Nativity set, and the cookbooks (especially the cookie and candy books) are perfect for beginning Christmas bakers.
Gwen W. in Denver
Posted by: Gwen W. | October 17, 2006 at 07:04 AM