Book Calendar: 24 Days of Christmas or 8 Days of Hanukkah

Give the gift of reading to a special child or children in your life. When the December holidays come near, ready your book calendar. Choose 24 (or 8) books for the calendar. The books may be new titles or old favorites enjoyed with Grandma or Grandpa, or other friends or family. Wrap and label each book package with a numeral (we put the corresponding numeral inside the book as well).Whatever the origin of the books once the books are opened it is intended that they become part of the child or children's library. Put the book packages in a basket or special box and gift the basket/box to the child/family prior to the first day of December or the first day of Hanukkah.

In this book basket the final book (#24) was a favorite collection of Christmas stories - this copy was given to the child's grandmother by a special friend almost 30 years ago. The Family Read Aloud Christmas Treasury, compiled by Alice Low, and illustrated by Marc Tolon Brown (Little Brown & Company, 1989) includes "A Merry Literary Christmas" a poem by Alice Low, a version of Clement C. Moore's The Night Before Christmas, and other favorite stories and poems. The book package was accompanied by a package containing new pajamas and slippers for the child (but could include a pair for each child in a family)
This book calendar is ready for special readers - each evening/day open a package and share the book as a read-aloud. The greatest gift one can give to a child is the gift of reading. And one of the greatest activities a parent can share with their child is time during which he/she reads aloud to the child - well past the days when the child can read for themselves. Reading aloud provides children with listening skills, vocabulary new to their world, and modeling of fluency which helps guide their reading development.