S is for Star: A Christmas Alphabet

by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds, Pam Carroll

The Christmas story and the origin of many holiday traditions are thoroughly detailed in the text of S is for A Christmas Alphabet. The first Christmas cards were printed and sold in the United States by a German immigrant in 1874. Long ago, eating pie was believed to bring good luck, and during the holidays they were baked in an oblong shape to look like a manger. The message of Christmas is a message to all the world and is beautifully conveyed and illustrated in S is for Star. Our tradition of gift-giving is based on the Wise Men's visit to Baby Jesus. Nearly every country has its own gift-giving traditions. In Great Britain, children eagerly await Father Christmas. In France, he is called Pere Noël. In Italy, Befana brings presents, and German and Austrian children wait for a visit from the Christkindl. Celebrate these and many other traditions of the holiday season with S is for A Christmas Alphabet.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Holiday, Christian, Childrens

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Set · Rating 4 out of 5]

They include Christes maesses (Christ's mass), candles being a Christian tradition because we are the light of the world; epiphany which us Europeans celebrate, otherwise known as the day of the Three Magi and who named the wise man because we didn't actually know their names. They do mention the Mexican traditions a lot, if not all, instead of the Spanish Christmas tradition. Mexico does not encompass the Spanish culture. They're mostly only a Spanish speaking country with some traditions that the Spanish brought. And I am very happy that they added the story of St. Boniface who converted pagan tribesmen to Christianity. But they omitted that the pagans used to sacrifice a man to an oak tree every winter solstice and St. Boniface explained to them that Jesus had already made the ultimate sacrifice for mankind. They worshiped the oak tree as a symbol for Thor but the true son of God died for our sins on a tree.

"In Greek, the word Christ begins with the letter Chi, which is written like an X. Early Christians were persecuted and they had to meet in secret. They would use the Greek letter X to represent Christ in their communications. Today we do the same when we abbreviate "Christmas" as "Xmas."'
Which begs the question why Elon Musk wants to name everything he owns as "X."

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely too much for the young preschool crowd, but this book would be great around elementar7 school age. Very Christian-focused, this book centers around the biblical story of Jesus' birth. Fantastic illustrations and lots of information in side panels. A good read, but not a great read aloud.

[Stephanie Littig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Christmas book so I give it two thumbs up for my love of all things Christmas. I like how they use the alphabet to teach about the things of Christmas. This teaches the many things about Christmas from the wise men to santa. It was a fun book to read.

[Cathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our family owns quite a few of these types of alphabet books, and they're done by different authors and illustrators, with varying styles. There are short verses on each page, with great illustrations for each letter of the alphabet, and the margins of the page are filled with greater detail about various words. This particular book explains a lot of Christian traditions, cultural celebrations, etc. and it's quite informative. (I learned some new things myself.) Little kids would enjoy the short verses and the brightly-colored illustrations. Older kids would enjoy learning more details about all sorts of Christmas things. Also, each letter of the alphabet has a scripture to go along with it. Very nice book!

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't you just love after Christmas sales. I found this little gem hiding underneath a pile of calendars at Barnes and Noble. It was only $3.50!! I love alphabet books and this one doesn't disappoint. Alongside each letter is a brief explanation, historical fact, or interesting bit of trivia. Fun way to learn and teach about Christmas traditions and symbols

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This storybook as bright nice illustrations in the middle of the page then a double line phrase about Christmas that goes along with that letter of the alphabet from A to Z. Then on the side of the page is a small history about whatever they are talking about. You can read all the text, or just like I did for my adult special needs son and read the A through Z verses.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alphabet with religious connections. A lot of detail for an ABC book, really about learning about Christianity.