DAY Three - Home For Christmas from the book 12 Days of Christmas, Ideas for a Family Christmas Re

Home for Christmas is the third picture book in The 12 Days of Christmas Family Read A Loud program. It is designed to guide you through 12 days of fun filled exciting family reading & bonding time. Watch for my blogs about twice a month for the next 6 months. 12 Days of Christmas Ideas for a Family Christmas Read Aloud, will be published in time for 2019 Christmas.

This book has a special meaning for me. In 2011, for my birthday, my grand daughter, Hailey who was pregnant at the time, stood in line for two hours to get a signed copy Then she wrote an awesome note with drawings from her small children. If you have a special Christmas book consider using it in this program because that makes the book more unique for your family.

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

written and illustrated by Jan Brett

Rollo loves to romp and play. He just can't help being a wild little troll who does whatever he wants whenever he wants. He even runs away from home to escape work and lives with different animal families, which causes problems.

At this point I am going to leave the synopsis and talk about the author, Jan Brett and the story behind the writing of this book.

In her notes, Jan tells about the trip that her and her husband Joe made in 2010 to Sweden. At the time they made this trip, the book Home for Christmas was only partly written and illustrated, (maybe she was looking for more inspiration I really don’t know) but in her notes she even says that when she left home for Sweden she hadn't decided whether to have Rollo meet up with a reindeer family or a moose family.

While in Sweden, they visited Gudrun and Elof Eriksson’s farm. They met five adult moose and one calf. From her notes you can tell she fell in love with them immediately. She describes their meeting:

But when they got close, I was drawn to their intelligent eyes and majestic presence with their long brindled Northern fur coats, black cloven hooves and elegant palmate antlers.

Can you image how thrilled she was when she got to kiss one of their “velvety” noses. That experience made her anxious to get home and start to rewrite the story. She must have gone home, drew the moose in the illustrations and re-created the landscapes, plants, and animals. I think that is pretty amazing when you look at her elaborate illustrations and think of her re-doing much of them.

Visit Jan Bretts website at www.janbrett.com It is full of coloring pages, activities, videos. Make sure you watch her video on "How to Draw a Moose”. As she is drawing, Jan talks about what she is doing and is showing you how to do it. At the same time she is telling stories and facts about her visit to Sweden.

“How to Draw a Moose” - Click the link below https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=25&v=UeIeSKShB5w

Jylene Morgan is a retired educator. She is passionate about the importance of reading aloud to children from top quality children’s books. Writing about her life experiences she captivates her audience by telling the tales of her family’s adventures. The first several books are written about funny exchanges that occur when human and wild animal’s lives come together.

To read more about me, my passion for reading aloud to children and my books go to www.jylenemorgan.com