As December 25th approaches, library staff notice the books with Christmas stickers flying off the shelves in the children’s area. While we all have our favourites, I thought I would take this opportunity to showcase some lesser known Christmas stories by Canadian authors.
Helaine Becker has written new lyrics for the popular carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” in her book entitled Porcupine in a Pine Tree: A Canadian 12 Days of Christmas. Fair warning though, the words may be different, but the song is just as long!
Carl the Christmas Carp by Ian Krykorka is an unusual holiday tale. It features a boy who grows attached to the holiday meal, a carp living temporarily in their bathtub. Feeling sorry for the fish, he names him Carl and decides to liberate it back into the Vltava river from which it came, taking a risk that he might receive a lump of coal in his stocking for Christmas. Lovely, full-page watercolour illustrations and pen and ink drawings accompany the text giving the readers views of Prague and a warm, family home.
A large, gentle dog is secretly in love with a delicate porcelain cat in the book Moon and Star: A Christmas Story by Robin Muller. When they become separated on Christmas eve, Moon is frantic and follows Star to her new home. Without giving too much away, there are some moments of sadness, but readers can look forward to a happy ending.
Rossland is a community with many ballerinas and fans of ballet. During the Christmas season, the Nutcracker is a perennial favourite. Canadian author Elly Mackay has produced a wordless book about a young girl’s first time attending a performance of the ballet with her grandmother. With gorgeous colour scenes, the ballet is portrayed in two acts while the reaction of the audience is illustrated with sepia tones. As Caitlyn Paxson remarked in her review for Quill and Quire, “this is a lovely holiday story that will appeal to the nostalgic side of those who’ve already experienced the beauty of the classic ballet, or give an enticing magical introduction to the uninitiated.”
Some other Canadian Christmas stories include Finding Christmas by Robert Munsch, Pippin the Christmas Pig by Jean Little, The Crooked Little Christmas Tree by Michael Cutting, and The Huron Carol illustrated by Ian Wallace.
