A Green Christmas by Theodora Kroeber & Illus by John Larrecq

I found this sweet little book on the shelf in my library. It is definitely vintage, but such cute little pictures and a sweet story of parents trying to help their children transition to a new place and new landscape. 

See? Cute pictures. And it is very green.

A little boy and his sister lived in the  mountains of Colorado.

Until they moved to California with rolling brown hills and so much warm sunshine.

Thanksgiving was rainy.

And so was Christmas. How could this be? How could Santa deal with green grass instead of snow?!

After assurances from their parents, the boy and his sister fall asleep. 

In the morning, before the sun is up, they quietly sneaked downstairs to see if Santa had really been there. And he had! And he left a note! 

Santa told them how nice it was to let his reindeer graze for a little while on new clover after delivering all the presents. 

They ran outside to look for footprints and found sleigh runner marks and hooves. 

And it turns out that green Christmases can be lovely as well. 

Pretty endpapers

Once Upon a Northern Night by Jean E. Pendziwol & Illus by Isabella Arsenault

Isn't this an adorable cover?! 

Did you know Isabella Arsenault is from Montreal? So pretty much local. 

Once upon a northern night

while you lay sleeping,

wrapped in a downy blanket

I painted you a picture.

The things that happen in the night...

Once upon a northern night

a mother deer led her fawn 

around the silent birch

and traced

a wandering path

on my canvas of white.

They nuzzled the sleeping garden

with memories of summer,

then wandered off

ti taste the frozen fruit

still clinging to an apple tree. 

The poor fox who just wants to play with the hares....

Once upon a norther night

deep,

deep, 

in the darkest hours,

the snowy clouds crept away

and the stars appeared--

twinkling points of light

hanging in the purple sky. 

I knew by the time you woke

the sun would have chased them away;

so I set them like diamonds

on the branches of the willow. 

The writing is so poetic. The pictures so soft and gentle. 

Dreamy and fitting for talking of the things that happen at night in the winter. 

And then

I had the moon gently kiss you

and the wind whisper...

I love you. 

I am not entirely sure who the narrator is here--the earth? The night? The world at large? 

But whatever it is, it is gentle, kind, and loving. 

And then, the awakening. 

That first morning of waking up to a snow covered world..... 

Magic!