Christmas books for children

Christmas is really the season for children. Family reunions and gift giving are most joyous when there are children in the center of all activities. It is because they are still in the age of innocence when all things, including miracles and Father Christmas are all still so real.

Nothing captures this image of innocence more than the best children’s books that have been able to survive in this digital age. Before they become obsolescent, I urge parents to explore this world of books with their children through good old-fashioned storytelling.  Here are some European and American children’s books that are worth considering. I will talk of Filipino children’s books in another column.

JRR Tolkien was the author of the books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. These books have become movie megahits, enjoyed by adults, adolescents and children. JRR Tolkien also wrote letters to his children every year which tell about life in the North Pole especially about the reindeer and fantastical polar bears. These collection of letters have become a book entitled Letters from Father Christmas. It is a magical book for children.

When I was growing up, I remember a poignant story about a poor girl selling matches in the middle of winter. On New Year’s Eve, the girl lights the matches to warm herself and in the flames she sees vision of a Christmas tree and a holiday feast. The first time I read the story, I got teary eyed because the girl dies from hypothermia – a condition of absolutely low body temperature. But in the ending, she is in heaven.

The tale is The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen, one of the most prolific writers of children’s stories in literary history. It remains an unforgettable tale and is a great lesson in the power of imagination for any reader.

The Little Prince by Antoine Saint-Exupery is often considered as a classic children’s book. Perhaps, it is because it is beautifully illustrated. But I have often felt that it is also a classic adult book. It is a tale of a world of foolish creatures. But, there is the advice to the readers: “ One must not hold against them. Children always show great forbearance toward grown up people.” Indeed children should learn to be patient with all those adults who keep  telling them to be more realistic and to stop thinking that happiness is only in happy endings which only happen in fairy tales.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and how he turned from a scrooge to a believer in the generosity of Christmas. It begins with the story of Christmas past told on Christmas Eve. It ends with the glorious Christmas Day, the conversion of Ebenezer and the miraculous episode about Tiny Tim. This story has been told and retold in movies, cartoons and graphic novels. There have been many different versions but the Dickens story remains immortal and passed from one generation to another. For children, I suggest a beautiful illustrated copy by known illustrators like Brett Helquist.

Whenever I see my grandchildren playing by themselves in a world created by their imagination, I always remember the book The Secret Garden by Frances Compton-Burnett. It is the story of the spoiled and sickly Mary Lennox who is sent to live with her uncle in the dreary Yorkshire countryside after her parents died. She hates it  – until she finds an overgrown, abandoned walled garden which she turns into her own personal paradise. The garden also leads to her crippled cousin being healed. We all need a secret garden that will have the miraculous power to heal emotional scars.

“ All children, except one, grow up.” Is the opening line in the book Peter Pan by JM Barrie. The hero is an enchanting, adult hating books who is the leader of the Lost Boys. He persuades Wendy and her little brothers to leave their home and fly to Neverland where they encounter memorable characters like Tinker Bell and Captain Hook. The story tells us that imagination keeps us forever young. This was initially produced as a play and first published as a book in 1911 under the title Peter and Wendy. More than a hundred years after, Peter Pan continues to fascinate children and adults.

Believe it or not, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was originally published in 1865. The author’s real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodson. It is story of a girl called Alice who falls into a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by strange creatures like the King of Hearts and the Cheshire Cat. It has become so popular that there has actually been a movie sequel about Alice coming back as a 19-year-old woman falling through the same rabbit hole.

We live in a digital age that believes that books are becoming an endangered species. But I continue to read about people who write about books that changed their lives. I was lucky that I grew up in a household that nurtured in all of us a love for books. This Christmas, I hope you will be able to start your children into a world where they can discover the power of imagination through books. Merry Christmas.

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Aquino Legacy: An Enduring Narrative is a collection of essays and stories that remind us of the role of Ninoy, Cory and the Aquino family in our struggle to restore democracy in our country. These are stories that make us proud to be Filipino. The book is now available in all Fully Booked stores.

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