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Christmas Is...


Title: Christmas Is...
Genre: Nonfiction (Informational)
Author: Gail Gibbons
Major Awards: None
Age Group: Pre-K-1st grade

 This is a sweet story that highlights what Christmas is. It states that Christmas Is...The Christ Child. It goes on to tell the story of Christ's birth. The book then states different things that Christmas is. Christmas Is...Saint Nicholas who loved giving gifts and helping, and later became known as Santa Claus. It states that Saint Nicholas threw three bags of coal down a chimney where three poor girls lived, landing in a stocking hung by a chimney to dry. This is why stockings are now hung above the chimney, and why people think Santa slides down chimneys to get into homes. The author also states that Christmas Is... the Christmas tree that people bring home to decorate. It also states that Christmas Is...Christmas lights that are used to decorate trees and homes with, reminding people of the light that Christ brought into the world when he was born. In the end, it states that Christmas Is...Prayer, when people go to church to hear the story of Christ's birth. 

 I loved this story, and hope I could use it in my classroom one day! It is a more Christian story, so it would be tough to use in a public school, but I really enjoyed it and would love to read it to future students. I like that it is about the real meaning of Christmas, which is Christ and His birth. I think that many students would enjoy learning about how Christmas and its symbols came to be, as well. I even learned some things in this story that I did not know about Christmas before reading, so it definitely is a good one!

 I believe that Pre-K through first grade are the best ages for this story. The author does a great job of writing what Christmas is in a way that is perfect for young students, by using simple words and incredible illustrations. I think that even young readers would read this book with ease because of that!

 In my classroom, I could give my students a writing prompt that says Christmas Is... and they would have to tell me what Christmas means to them. We could also make our own Christmas trees out of paper plates and craft supplies. Also, we could make Christmas lights of our own using paint, and have the students' fingerprints represent the lights. 


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