Tis the Season for Kidlit

You can't escape children's writers this time of year. Schultz' A Charlie Brown Christmas and Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas are TV staples and every year, a new child-themed holiday movie appears. This year,  DiMarco's War Horse and  Hugo  (adapted from Brian Selznick's book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret) are also playing on the big screen. Then there's the hot books, print and digital, perfect gifts for young readers. If you haven't found the right picture book, a good place to start is the 2011 Caldecott winner: A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Erin and Philip Stead; for middle graders, the 2011 Newberry winner: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool; or for young adults, the 2011 Printz winner: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.

By Saturday, no matter what holiday you celebrate, I hope the gifts are nestled under the tree or around the menorah and you're sipping a warm drink and laughing with loved ones.  We're visiting family and friends through Christmas eve and starting Christmas day in a small town church where we'll seek the spirit of the season. 

Here are pics my husband snapped this week.

In October, volunteers start decorating the historic Lutz schoolhouse for Christmas.

The entrance hall where children long ago clomped its wood floors. The snowman did a jerky twist, waved and sang in a tinny voice . . . brrr, gave me the creeps!

Families and local groups donate these decorated trees.

The nutcracker suite. There was even a creche with a nutcracker standing over the manger. A young boy was delighted to point the toy out to his family, exclaiming, "I don't remember a nutcracker at Jesus' birth! "

And two rooms filled with trains circling themed-realms: carnivals, alpine scenes, halloween villages, even Washington D.C. These delighted all ages.

We spotted these lights through a shallow pine forest . . . the perfect setting for a story, don't you think? What lies beyond those woods?

Aha, an enchanted cottage.