I have very few collections but of the few I do possess, my collection of children's Christmas books is my favorite. Every year we pull out the stacks of Christmas books and slowly savor them, one by one.

New York Times Best Selling author Karen Kingsbury's Christmas book for children entitled, We Believe in Christmas, is a book for savoring slowly. Its text is written in a simple poetic form and each couplet ends with the phrase, "and there will Christmas be." The setting is decidedly modern- the story in pictures follows a family from their home to their church as they prepare to be a part of a nativity scene there; all the while, the text draws the reader back to the ancient and wonderful reason for Christmas. My favorite page shows a storefront window with children lining up to sit on Santa's lap. The text reads:

"And should they whisper 'I believe...'
when sitting on his knee,
whisper, 'I believe this more.'
and there will Christmas be."

We Believe in Christmas draws its strength not only from Mrs. Kingsbury's beautiful prose but from artist Daniel Brown's lovely paintings as well. Illustrations are a necessary feature of children's books, and all too often the pictures seem to either distract from the text or add little to enhance it. Not so with Mr. Brown's rich colors, lively Christmas scenes, and meaningful expressions carefully illustrated on each face. These pictures will draw little faces in to examine the details and catch the deeper meanings of the story's prose.

We Believe in Christmas is a book worthy of owning. Good Christmas books should be cherished for the wonderful gift they are to children and adults alike. In a day and age when it seems we must fight to keep the world from altering the true meaning of Christmas, I appreciate any tool that helps us keep our focus in the right place. We Believe in Christmas is a lovely tool to do just that.

Product Review by: Kendra Fletcher, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, November, 2008