I saw this idea on Pinterest and I knew that Cricket would absolutely love it, so I set out to collect and wrap 24 Christmas books for an Advent countdown. I ended up with 28 books somehow so we started early, and she has been opening one each day.
This has been a huge hit so far, and we have both really enjoyed the variety of books. I chose not to number them so that she could pick whatever she wanted to open each day. I did write the title on the back of each package so that if she asked about a specific book I could find it.
These are the books that Cricket opened and read this week:
Dora’s Counting Christmas – This is a simple countdown style book with a Dora theme. Cricket liked the Christmas items in the book, and of course Dora and Boots.
The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear – Cricket loves her Berenstain Bear books and this was no exception. I liked the “Joy of Giving” focus, but I’m struggling with balancing the Santa stuff.
A Very Minty Christmas – This was a My Little Pony board book. It had a basic countdown theme going through the book as well as a find the stockings theme. Cricket seemed to enjoy it overall.
The Animals’ Christmas Eve – Cricket loved this one, I think again because it focused on animals. This book also offered a basic counting lesson. I really liked that the animals were telling the story of the birth of Jesus, and the real reason for the season.
The Christmas Story – This is the closest story I have found to reading the actual nativity story out of the bible. Cricket was familiar with the terms and story from our Truth in Tinsel studies this year, and she enjoyed the pictures.
A Child Was Born: A First Nativity Book – This book is probably best suited for a preschooler, the story is very simplified. Cricket wasn’t very drawn in by this one, but I liked it’s illustrations.