Make Christmas stories a part of your celebrations

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If reading Christmas stories to your children is part of how you celebrate the holiday season and you're looking for something new to supplement the tried and true Christmas classics, here are a few Christmas books written by Aboriginal authors that you might want to check out.

Baseball Bats for Christmas

By Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak

Annick Press Ltd.

24 pages

$6.95 sc/ $15.95 hc

In his book Baseball Bats for Christmas, author Michael Kusugak draws on his experiences growing up in Repulse Bay. Set in 1955, the book relates the experiences of Arvaarluk, a seven-year-old boy with severe asthma that limits his physical activities. One thing he can do, however, is play baseball, which he does as often as he can with his friends Peter, Jack and Yvo.

The only problem is that playing baseball means that first they have to find a good stick to use as a bat, no easy task in a land where no trees grow. At least it's a problem until a Christmas delivery from the south, combined with a little ingenuity on the part of the boys, provides not only baseball bats for Christmas, but for well into the New Year.

For this 1990 book, author Kusugak teamed up with illustrator

Vladyana Krykorka, who has provided pictures for many of his books, starting with his collaborative effort with Robert Munch, A Promise is a Promise. Krykorka also provided the illustrations for Kusugak's books Arctic Stories; Hide and Sneak; My Arctic 1, 2, 3; Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails; and Who Wants Rocks?

Baseball Bats for Christmas is recommended for children ages 4 to 7, but children of all ages will appreciate the colourful illustrations and the author's recollections of Christmases past. They will also enjoy the humour of a situation in which the boys in the story are presented with an object that on the surface appears inherently useless, until they use their resourcefulness to turn it into exactly what they need.

A Candle for Christmas

By Jean Speare

Groundwood Books

32 pages

$4.95 sc

When he wakes up the morning of Christmas Eve, Tomas is cold and anxious. Cold because he is in pajamas and sleeping on sheets-if he was home he'd be wearing his thick underwear and be wrapped up in warm gray blankets. And anxious because he is worried about his parents.

Tomas' parents have gone to the place where their cattle are wintering to check on his uncle, who had not yet come to the reserve for his Christmas supplies. When they left two weeks before, they sent Tomas to stay with the community's nurse, and promised they would be home in plenty of time for Christmas.

In A Candle for Christmas, Tsihqot'in author Jean Speare paints a picture of what life might once have been like for a little boy living on a reserve on British Columbia's Chilcotin Plateau, where Speare herself lives. In the book, we follow Tomas throughout his day as he tries to concentrate on school but can only think of his parents. And we see how the love shared between family members can shine brighter than a candle flame, helping to guide Tomas' parents home for Christmas.

The book, first published in 1986, is illustrated with watercolour paintings by award winning illustrator Ann Blades, who has also created pictures for a number of other children's book including two she wrote herself-Mary of Mile 18 and A Boy of Tache.

Speare's other published works include The Days of Augusta, in which she shares stories and remembrances told to her by 80-year-old Mary Augusta Tappage, the daughter of a Shuswap chief.

A Candle for Christmas, aimed at children aged 2 to 5, is a heartwarming story that reminds us that what makes the holiday season special is sharing it with the people that you love.

Santa's Helper

By Grant S. Anderson

Pemmican Publications Inc.

36 pages

$9.95 sc

Yet another Christmas tale comes from Metis author Grant S. Anderson, who combines with illustrator Sheldon Dawson to create Santa's Helper.

The book tells the story of Sarah, a young chipmunk who, with the help o her grandmother, learns what Christmas is truly about.

Sarah is confused when Santa comes to the school play and hands out gifts to everyone in the class except Andrew, a young boy whose family doesn't have a lot of money. Then, when her older sister tells her there's no such thing as Santa Claus, she goes to the one person who would know the truth-her grandmother.

Sarah's grandmother doesn't just tell Sarah the truth about Santa, she helps Sarah discover it for herself, allowing her to not only reaffirm her belief in Santa, but also to discover the rewards of being one of his helpers.

The book is aimed at children in grades 2 to 6. Its colourful illustrations, menagerie of characters and heartwarming story is sure to become a seasonal favorite.