Every year at just this time, In cold and dark December, Families around the world  All gather to remember, With presents and with parties, With feasting and with fun, Customs and traditions  for people old and young. — Helen H. Moore

Christmas, Cats, & Books

I developed one of my own traditions and yes, it is one of reading and books! Though I started it when I was younger; now that I’m old (only just 29!! -- I wish), I believe I enjoy my custom more than ever. I collect first edition children’s Christmas cat books!  So, my first holiday assignment is to read them all over again and then decorate my home with all my wonderful books that glow with covers of red, green, gold, and silver. The stories are sad, happy, touching, funny, whimsical, and oh, the illustrations make the stories come alive! Maybe you can judge a book by its cover!

Please let me share some of my favorites in my collection. Michael Foreman retells the story of Christmas through the eyes of a small cat in Cat in the Manager. His drawings catch the wonder of that night. The Christmas Cat by Efner Tudor Holmes and her mother’s radiant illustrations (the great Tasha Tudor) express the loving spirit of a farmer’s family and a lost cat in the woods. The much-loved author, Margaret Wise Brown, pens A Pussycat’s Christmas, and Anne Mortimer illuminates the lyrical text with stunning illustrations of a pussycat and the excitement of Christmas Eve. Anne Mortimer also drew the magical images of Santa’s missing cat in Sue Stanton’s Santa’s Snow Cat. Ruth Brown’s delightful paintings and loving text create a beautiful portrait of a very special cat in her book, Holly. A Kitten Called Moonlight by Martin Waddell, the author of Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?, is a true story about a winter’s night, a girl, her mother, and an abandoned cat by the sea. Waddell’s images enhance the feeling of the cold of winter and, at the same time, the warmth of the child.

So, when I’m tired and exhausted of the work and activities of the season, I settle in my chair with my own two cats and read (second time in four weeks!) my marvelous and heartwarming kitty books.

Please have a safe, warm, and wonderful holiday season and leave some time to read your favorite books again.

And as always, thanks for keeping the joy of reading alive!

Barbara
bmead@readinggroupchoices.com