The Christmas Stove

In Alta Halverson Seymour’s beautiful Christmas story, The Christmas Stove, 11-year-old Peter and 8-year-old Trudi lose their parents in an avalanche. The children make the difficult journey down the mountain to the village of Zimmerli, looking for their Tante Maria in the hopes that she will adopt them. The children arrive a few weeks before Christmas to find a kind-hearted but sickly woman who is quite poor. Together, the three of them share the struggle for existence and feast on the love they have for each other. A sweet and innocent story, this one reminds a little bit of Ralph Moody’s Mary Emma and Company.

A Grandma For Christmas

This loving retelling of a special Christmas Alta Halverson Seymour’s father had as a boy in Norway is the jewel in her Christmas collection. A short read of only 59 pages (plus a few extra pages of Christmas recipes), it is warm and lovely and full of goodness. It is also exciting and perfect for boys. And, the Purple House Press reprint has full-color illustrations generously spread across nearly every page.

The Miracle of St. Nicholas

“Why can’t we celebrate Christmas tomorrow in St. Nicholas?” Set in a small Russian village, young Alexi asks his babushka (grandma) why they cannot celebrate Christmas in their village church of St. Nicholas. In the wake of the Bolshevik revolution, the communists vigorously worked to eradicate religion because it threatened the Russian people’s dependence on…

Letters From Father Christmas

You can listen to the podcast version of this book review at the Plumfield Moms on your favorite podcasting app or right here. Several years ago I discovered this beautiful book. Published posthumously by Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien never really meant these for public consumption. Written annually to his children in the guise of Father…