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As we mentioned in the last Christmas Books post, December is the most wonderful time of the year to read about THE STORY. And let’s be honest – Christmas is what your children are thinking about this month anyway! The extensive Christmas book list that we provide in the upcoming GO GLOBAL curriculum will delight all ages, though the curriculum is geared towards 5 to 8-year olds. In this post we will talk about the gift givers.
There are many stories of people bringing gifts to the Christ Child, and other stories of giving gifts in His name. We can be inspired by the generosity of the Wise Men mentioned in the Bible, the little drummer boy, and St. Nicholas.
The Wise Men (also known as the Magi and the Three Kings) are mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew. While the Biblical text does not tell how many Magi there were, traditionally we refer to three men because of the listed three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Bible states that they came from the east. Traditionally named Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar, their individual lands of origin vary in tradition: perhaps Persia, India, Arabia/ Yemen, Sheba, Ethiopia, Egypt, or Mongolia.
St. Nicholas lived in the third century in Turkey and was raised by wealthy parents to be a devout Christian. He was orphaned while still young and used his inheritance to help the poor. Nicholas entered the ministry and eventually became a bishop in Myra, Turkey. Nicholas was a generous and loving Christian minister. One legend tells of a poor man with three daughters who did not have money for their dowries. Secretly Nicholas tossed bags of gold through an open window which landed in the girl’s stockings hung to dry. This money provided dowries enabling the girls to marry. This is why we hang stockings, receive small gifts, and traditionally receive an orange to symbolize the bag of gold. If you do not use the Santa legend, you will still want to talk about St. Nicholas. You should consider explaining to your children that some families do pretend he is real. You have an opportunity to teach your children to be gracious.
Santa, Are You For Real? Harold Myra. Ages 3–7. Children discover there really was a Saint Nick. This is by far our favorite story of Saint Nicholas! It’s worth hunting down a copy. The older 1977 version is better – more text and we like the illustrations better.
We Three Kings, Gennady Spirin. All ages. Luxurious paintings perfectly fit the words of the carol.
Carol of the Brown King: Nativity Poems, Langston Hughes. All ages. Simple poems celebrating the first Christmas with luminous bright paintings in characteristic African colors. Many of the characters are depicted as Africans. This poem is available in many anthologies as well.
The Story of the Three Wise Kings, Tomie DePaola. Ages 4–10. The basic story with such lovely illustrations – look for the partridge and the pear.
The Third Gift, Linda Sue Park. Ages 6–10. A fictional story of a boy who collects myrrh resin with his father, including the myrrh bought as a gift for a “king.” A simple moving tale of ordinary people involved in an extraordinary event. Such a beautiful book.
Amahl and the Night Visitors, Gian Carol Menotti and Michele Lemieux. All ages. The honored composer tells the story of his most famous opera, inspired by his own miraculous recovery from lameness as a child. This story can also be found in collections such as Joy to the World, Ann Keya Beneduce, illustrated by Gennady Spirin. If you like opera music, find and listen!
The Little Drummer Boy, Ezra Jack Keats. Ages 3–8. The traditional sweet story.
Join the GO GLOBAL ADVENTURE
We provide 50 of the best Christmas books out there in our Go Global curriculum. It will provide fresh inspiration for your children for years to come! If you LOVE books and want an interactive, movement-rich curriculum that you and your children will love, check out GO GLOBAL curriculum.
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