Before having children, one of the things I most anticipated was how we would celebrate Christmas as a family with little ones around. When we did add to our family, I remember buying Lucy’s Christmas stocking months before she was even born. I was ecstatic to find a little board book of the Night Before Christmas with sweet Victorian illustrations. She sat there in her Christmas blanket sleeper that first year, 6 months old and all smiles– as we read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and she kept batting at the Christmas lights like a new puppy.
As she has grown year by year, there are some traditions we continue and others we leave behind so that we can grab hold of another– but reading books by the Christmas Tree remains at the top of our list! One year I tried that “Pinterest-y” idea of wrapping up 25 Christmas books and having the kids open one each night to read– but we missed not having all the books to choose from throughout the month. This year, I’m planning to fill a large basket with all our Christmas books and place it under the tree to pick from. Besides, wrapping 25 EXTRA things? AintNoMamaGotTimeForThatatChristmas.
One book I am so happy to add to our collection this year is The Legend of the Candy Cane
The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg tells an inspirational story of a little girl named Lucy (!) who discovers the joyous meaning of the candy cane when she meets Mr. John Sonneman and his candy store. Mr. Sonneman moves to town and turns an old building into a wonderful candy store full of all kinds of treats, and allows his new friend Lucy to help set up shop. He takes the time to introduce her to the candy cane and the beautiful meaning of Christmas it points to. The friendly pair then take candy canes to all the residents of the town inviting them to come to Sonneman’s Candy Store Grand Opening. This story takes a simple Christmas treat and makes it something much more meaningful as it rightly ties Christmas and Easter together.
There is no shortage of whimsical illustrations– the book itself is pure joy to read for both child and parent. The portion with the candy store looks good enough to eat and the pages which portray the first Christmas are serene and uncluttered, pointing straight to Jesus. As a parent in a stage of life who reads a lot of children’s books– I appreciated the illustrator’s attention to detail. And even though the story is quite complete, the language is simple enough for my Five year old to help read. Another aspect I love about this particular printing of the book, is that it’s a board book– which makes it fairly indestructible even at our house!
I asked Lucy what she liked about The Legend of the Candy Cane and she said, “Well it has Jesus in it. And candy. I love both of those a lot.”
I received a free copy of The Legend of the Candy Cane (published by ZonderKidz) from the BookLook Blogger program in exchange for my honest opinions and review, but I certainly would have purchased a copy for our house anyway.
If you would like to add The Legend of the Candy Cane*
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