I'm to the point where I hesitate. Majorly. Before any given homeschool purchase. Even if said purchase is something as innocuous and non-space-guzzling as a book. And the longer I homeschool the more wary I become of recommending "things"- any "things"- to any one. I'm a minimalist, to be sure. Plus there are only so many slots in any homeschooler's library! And I think we all hold our wallets just a little tighter these days.
So when I call something a treasure, I don't do it lightly. Let alone a book! Books. Books. Books. There are so many. Good ones. Bad ones. Sometimes I think I'll write one but then every time I go to Barnes and Noble I get sort of sick looking at the sea of books... only a small fraction of which are worth anybody's time. Too many books.
We have a treasury of Tomie de Paola'sw Christmas books which we lovingly display and read each Advent. We don't need any more Christmas books! But I couldn't walk by this one. I had to stop and look. Then I had to read it. Then, well, I had to have it for our collection; despite all my misgivings, I just couldn't pass this beauty up.
The book tells the story of St. Wenceslas with exquisite illustrations. And his story couldn'y be more apropo for the children of our time. I don't want to tell you the story in case you've never heard it. But King Wenceslas embodies the spirit of giving in a concrete way that really sinks in for children. So if you only buy one Christmas book this year, may I be so bold as to say, this should be it!
God bless, and happy reading.
Good King Wenceslas
"Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher."
~Flannery O'Connor
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