Christmas Magic

When I was a child, I spent hours poring through what seemed like an ancient book of Christmas carols that had belonged to a grandmother I never knew. The binding was pretty much nonexistent; it was a pile of brittle yellowed pages held together with equally brittle, yellow tape. Each carol had a beautiful, full-page illustration opposite it--old-fashioned and beautiful and full of holly-bedecked, rosy-cheeked details. The piano accompaniments were easy enough for me to plunk out--it was great entertainment all around. My mom sent me a photocopy of the book for Christmas a few years ago. You can see all the old folds and tears and tape on the newer white pages, which are starting to show some wear themselves. (The book is Christmas Carols (Words and Music Selected by Mary Nancy Graham with Illustrations by F. D. Lohman).)

More recently, someone gave our kids A Treasury of Christmas Songs: Twenty-five Favorites to Sing and Play from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is a beautiful book, too, with 25 popular Christmas songs and a broad selection of artwork from the museum's collection. It is still in good shape, but I know it won't be long before it gets that well-loved, well-used look.

I love the lavishness of these picture books--art, literature and music pulled together into one volume. Add all the Christmas excitement of childhood and there's a lot of magic there. Here's a list of these and other books related to Christmas carols to get you started this December:

Christmas Carols (Words and Music Selected by Mary Nancy Graham with Illustrations by F. D. Lohman), Whitman Publishing Company, 1938Christmas Carols (Words and Music Selected by Mary Nancy Graham with Illustrations by F. D. Lohman)

A Treasury of Christmas Songs: Twenty-five Favorites to Sing and Play, music arranged and edited by Dan Fox, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Henry Holt and Company, 2004A Treasury of Christmas Songs: Twenty-five Favorites to Sing and Play

A Child's Book of Christmas Carols, by Inez Bertail, illustrated by Masha, Neumann Press, 2003
The First Noel A Child''s Book of Christmas To Play and Sing, DK Publishing, 1998







The Friendly Beasts, illustrated by Tomie dePaola, Putnam, 1998

Good King Wenceslas, by John Mason Neale, illustrations and ornaments by Christopher Manson, North-South Books, 1994

The Huron Carol, by Frances Tyrrell, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2003









Silent Night, illustrated by Susan Jeffers, Dutton Children's Books, 1984, 2003Silent Night








Silent Night: The Song and Its Story, by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Tim Ladwig, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 1997Silent Night: The Song and Its Story