The Twelve Books of Christmas, December 29

This is the fifth day of Christmas.  For today I have chosen a Christmas book that I found several years ago, "The Huron Carol", by Frances Tyrell.  Tyrell has illustrated the little-known carol, which was originally written both in Huron and in French, as a way of telling and singing the Christmas story with the Huron Indians.

From the back of the book: "Father Jean de Brebeuf (1593-1649) worked among the Huron Indians in the villages around Fort Set Marie, where Midland, Ontario now stands.  During his twenty-two years there he translated many books into the Huron language. But he is best remembered for this telling of the Christmas story in the setting of the Hurons."

The pictures and the carol imagine the Christmas story taking place in the setting and among the Huron people.  Instead of shepherds, the first visitors are hunter braves; the wise men from the east are chiefs who bring gifts of fox and beaver pelt for the baby.  The pictures also show the hunters traveling by snowshoe and the traditional dwellings of the Huron Indians at that time.  The pen-and-ink drawings are intricate and accurate, even to the constellations in the sky.  At the back of the book, the first verse of the carol is presented in three languages:  English, French, and Huron.

I love this book because it speaks the mystery of the incarnation so beautifully:  that Jesus was born into a particular time and place, but his incarnation means that he is born among us, in all of our particular times and places.  This book reminds me to notice and give thanks for Emmanuel:  God with US -- and to notice the particular and intricate beauties of our lives -- and of other lives, not known to us.  Jesus has come for ALL of us.

There is a newer version of "The Huron Carol", with a different illustrator.  It also looks like a beautiful book, and I would recommend it.  But this earlier one remains my favorite.

The Twelve Books of Christmas, December 26

I am thinking about posting a recommendation for a different Christmas book every day here  Today is the 2nd Day of Christmas, and the book I am recommending is called "Good King Wenceslas", a picture book by John Neal and illustrated by Tim Ladwig.  John Neale wrote the hymn, Good King Wenceslas in 1855, and this beautiful picture book is an illustration of the hymn, and accompanying story.

I remember singing this carol at our school's Christmas program, and having a vague idea of the story behind it, that the King was walking through through the snow in order to help someone who was poor, and the page (what was a page?) was following him and walking in his footsteps, and his footsteps were warm.

The pictures bring the story to life.  There are some pages without words, only pictures showing the preparation of the meal they would bring to the peasant's door.

The front pages of the story related something I never knew:  King Wenceslas was a real person, a tenth century king, from Bohemia, now part of the Czech republic.  There is a statue commemorating him in Prague.

A Historical note at the end of the book tells us a little more about the king, one who was known especially for his kindness and compassion to children, orphans, and slaves.

There have been other books illustrating this lovely carol as well.  Here are a couple of examples:
Good King Wenceslas
Good King Wenceslas

As well, Tim Ladwig has illustrated a number of books for children, including The Lord's Prayer, Psalm 23, and The Beatitudes:  From Slavery to Civil Rights.