The Christmas Alphabet – Robert Sabuda

Today I want to share a special Christmas book. I love pop-up books, this book though is more like a work of art. The Christmas Alphabet by Robert Sabuda has twenty-six miniature pop-ups, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each double page spread has four different color flaps to open. Inside the flaps are elaborate three dimensional white cut-outs. The white-only paper against colored backdrops is elegant and timeless. The only cutouts that have color are “W” which shows a Madonna and Child stained glass window, and “X” which is for “Xmas” that shows two red and white stripped … Continue reading

Week in Review: December 17th – 23rd

Did you see all the great blogs here in Media Reviews last week? In case you missed them, here’s a recap. In “The Day Before Christmas,” Tristi reviewed the story of a girl who goes to see The Nutcracker ballet with her grandfather, reliving a tradition he had with her own mother, now passed away. This is a touching holiday tale, as is “The Fourth Wise Man,” a picture book retelling of the classic story by Henry Van Dyke. Who will brave the winter blizzard to come out to Christmas services? More people than you might think, as we discover … Continue reading

The Gingerbread Baby – Jan Brett

Jan Brett books are known for detailed illustrations. The Gingerbread Baby is no exception. Each page shows not only an illustration of what is happening, but a decorated border that looks like cookie decorations or cookie molds. Some of the pages have a side illustration that reveals what else is happening in the story. This is a different version of the classic story of the gingerbread man. On a cold day, a young boy named Matti decides to make gingerbread. He opens up a worn looking cookbook with old-fashioned writing on the cover to a page that says “Gingerbread Boy”. … Continue reading