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

The Enchanted Schoolhouse by Ruth Sawyer & Illus by Hugh Troy

Since it was just St. Patrick's Day and this book is all about a wee Irish fairy, it seemed appropriate. 

Mom bought this little red guy for my kids, but I love him! 

The pictures are similar to Garth Williams, so totally adorable.

Brian Boru is a young Irish lad who is told stories of the little people that populate Ireland from his grandfather. 

His uncle Seumas in America had recently written to say that Brian Boru could join him over there and had sent the fair. 

Brian felt a bit self conscious about going to America without being able to bring something to show American kids how terrific Ireland was. Since there wasn't a lot Brian could take with him, since life was pretty austere with his Da and Granda, Brian wondered if maybe he could catch a Irish fairy and bring it to America with him.  

Unfortunately, Brian Boru is told by Old Timothy, his grandfather, that there has not been any fairies seen for 50 years. 

Brian talks to his teacher about this and his teacher gives him some potential pointers for catching a wee man and keeping him.  

Brian Boru follows his advice and..... 

....through careful planning, catches a wee man. An angry wee man. Angry because Brian Boru had taken his little red cap. Without a red cap, he has to do everything Brian Boru tells him to do.

Brian keeps him in a teapot tied with string on his journey to America. Where Brian is introduced to ice cream and discovers that the wee man has a sweet tooth. 

Showing him America

Disaster almost struck when a custom's official spots the teapot and asks questions about it. Brian Boru narrowly avoids losing both the teapot and the fairy man.

The wonders of an American grocery store

And finally, they arrive in Lobster Cove, Maine, where Uncle Seumas and his new wife have a house.  

Brian Boru asks the wee man what he thinks of America--

'Tis not any of it I'm liking. You can have it all to yourself. My ears are exploding with noises, my shins are blue with dandering about--and were it not for the ice cream I would be afeard to live through another night, into another day. 

Meeting his new aunt. 

Geraniums on the windowsill! 

Exploring their new home. 

Fishing with Uncle Seumas

For all of America's finery, the school was in terrible disrepair. Which Brian doesn't understand. His school back in poverty stricken Ireland was a beautiful and gentle stone building. 

His new teacher finds some slides of Ireland and Brian Boru shares a little of his homeland with his class. 

But magical things are afoot with the wee man in attendance. One day, each time the student's turn their page, a little lamb's tail whisks all the words off the page. 

Finally the class sees the wee man.

Brian uses his big wish to try to get the people of Lobster Cove to improve their schoolhouse. The wee man organizes a flock of birds to fly the schoolhouse away to an abandoned island. 

Where the children are tucked in by the birds and spend the night. 

The animals all become bewitched, including the cows, who walk through town with flower collars and mooing softly about...

Moo! Moo! A poor lot of humans, you!

Not a quart of milk will we let down

Till there's a new schoolhouse in this town. 

Moo, moo, moo! 

And you will have to see how it all works out by reading it for yourself.

But suffice it to say, that no kids could ever make fun of Brian Boru or Ireland!

Mabel and Sam at Home by Linda Urban and Hadley Hooper

Mabel and her brother Sam are clearly in the midst of a move. 

Just like we have been! Which explains the lack of involvement on the blog. All that packing and cleaning and cleaning and unpacking takes a lot of time.

Fortunately, they have a limitless imagination

But mostly Mabel. Sam is a little skeptical of his big sister and her imaginings. Just like little brothers generally are. 

I love how the illustrations show the movement from reality to imagination.

After sailing for some time, Sam starts to wonder about getting back on land. Mabel warns him of the danger. 

But the siren call of the pizza delivery guy decides things. 

"They might be dangerous," said Captain Mabel. 

"Starving might be dangerous too," said First Mate Sam. 

Little brothers are so hard to control. 

First Mate Same did not hear.

He was already heading for land, "ahoying" at the inhabitants.

In the second mini-story in this book, Mabel is a tour guide, giving Sam an up close view of important things. 

Most of the things Tour Guide Mabel point out happen to be about her. 

"This is the famous table where the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Sandwich was invented," said Mabel. 

"I eat those," said Sam.

"Yes," said Mabel. "But you at them second. Museums are about people who do things first."

 Being second is just no good Sam. 

Sam gets his own back though when he makes a unilateral decision to eat the "...Ancient Frosted Pitty-Pat of Calimari. The last one of its kind."

"And I am the first to discover it," said Sam. 

In the last story in the book, Mabel and Sam embark on a space odyssey just before bed. 

I love Sam. 

Then, the bold astronauts are made to head to bed. Even with alien noises echoing around. Or  maybe that is just Mr. Woofie who needs to go out. 

And then, a cozy, sleepy night in their new house. I adore cozy inside family scenes. They are just so... nice. And niceness is a rare quality in this world.