A Kiwi Night Before Christmas by Yvonne Morrison & Deborah Hinde

From the publisher: The much-loved poem by Clement Clarke Moore, originally released under the title 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' but better known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' is given a new slant in this Kiwi version. The weather is fine and hot and the family is staying at the bach for the Christmas holidays when a white-haired man in black singlet and shorts appears in the sky riding on a tractor drawn by six sheep. This is the ultimate read-aloud for Christmas in New Zealand. The rhyming text flows off the page and Deborah Hinde captures the colour of a truly New Zealand festive season. This new edition includes a full-colour press-out model of the beach bach that children can make for themselves, and a music CD!

The CD was still on rotation when I went up for my late night check on the boys, which should go to show that it’s still a favourite after a few years and readings. In this case the publisher’s blurb is completely accurate and the words just trip along. It was in this story that little Brian’s parents first appeared.

Santa’s Kiwi Holiday by Maria Farrer & Deborah Hinde

From the publisher: After all his hectic work Santa feels he needs a rest. He scans the globe for where to go. He wants sea and sun, not ice and snow - mountains, rivers, native bush. So where does he choose? Why sunny New Zealand of course. Over the days that follow Santa visits popular tourist sights throughout New Zealand until, with batteries thoroughly recharged, he returns to his North Pole home to prepare for next Christmas.

Reading this book reminds me of the John Hore Grenell version of “I’ve Been Everywhere, Man”. As a family we’ve tiki-toured our own country first of course so where Santa goes, we paved the way (sometimes literally although Bran has now outgrown that unfortunate stage). Love the illustrations on this one.

And here the link to Grenell’s version and a little bit of trivia for the John Denver fan – guess who he got the name from? Scroll to the bottom for a bit of a surprise.

Brian, The Big Brained Romney/Brian Saves Christmas, by Yvonne Morrison & Deborah Hinde

From the publisher: Brian is a new lamb born to a couple of the sheep that pull Santa’s tractor. But Brian doesn’t like rugby – or flying, for that matter. He’d much rather gaze at the stars than fly through them. But brainy Brian’s talents prove essential when the team are fog-bound on Christmas Eve.

Best read in the same tune as “Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer”, this is one we purchased as we loved this combinations version of a Kiwi Night Before Christmas (ours is complete with the bach but it comes in all formats, including a board version for little hands). What’s even better is our kids know someone who’s a bit like Brian, very smart and not easily merged into the group of rough-and-tumble boys that populate the school ground. So while the kids didn’t enjoy my singing voice much, we did have a good time spotting the “Kiwi” bits and a discussion about how it takes all sorts to get the job done.

The Polar Express by Chris van Allsburg

I am, quite frankly, a square. I like to know who, what, where – so much so that my loving family call me “Paulapedia”. Sometimes it’s not said with affection, but there you go. Sometimes my curiosity leads us on to greater things – and our December Reads are one of these things. And no, we’re not going on about the other things right now. That would be wrong on so many levels.

So we watched Tom Hank’s Polar Express a few years ago (I think we were sweltering in Bali at the time. Not so apt). As part of the special features there was an interview with Hanks and his wife Rita, talking about their family traditions. One was that the children chose a Christmas-themed story each night and the family sat down to read it together. Of course it's an idea I had to steal. And share. Lots of sharing!

This year we’re close to the 23 books we need (we read from the Gospel of Luke on Christmas Eve). To add to the fun, I wrap them all individually and they go into a basket. This year Bran chose the first title and yay! It’s the Polar Express. A perfect start to the month.

The basics of the story is a young boy is staying awake, trying to hear Santa’s arrival. Instead he hears the brakes of a steam train – the Polar Express. He jumps on board and heads to the North Pole and a major adventure.

If you haven’t read the book, you can get a preview at Google Books. Polar Express Google Books