Every family has their own personal Holiday traditions, and many of them include those advent calendars that have the little chocolates or toys behind each door as you count to Christmas Day. Well in my family we had a Advent Candle instead. Each night we would light the candle and as it burned that day away we would read a special Christmas story or poem. So I decided to bring that tradition to all of you.
Most of the books will be Children's books as I share this tradition with Munchkin for the first time, but I will also have some After Dark specials and maybe a few fiction, romance and young adult books too as time allows. I will also feature a favorite Christmas song each day. So please join me and share some of your favorite traditions, songs and stories this holiday season!
Synopsis: ""The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! / Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason." Dr. Seuss's small-hearted Grinch ranks right up there with Scrooge when it comes to the crankiest, scowling holiday grumps of all time. For 53 years, the Grinch has lived in a cave on the side of a mountain, looming above the Whos in Whoville. The noisy holiday preparations and infernal singing of the happy little citizens below annoy him to no end. The Grinch decides this frivolous merriment must stop. His "wonderful, awful" idea is to don a Santa outfit, strap heavy antlers on his poor, quivering dog Max, construct a makeshift sleigh, head down to Whoville, and strip the chafingly cheerful Whos of their Yuletide glee once and for all.
Looking quite out of place and very disturbing in his makeshift Santa get-up, the Grinch slithers down chimneys with empty bags and stealing the Whos' presents, their food, even the logs from their humble Who-fires. He takes the ramshackle sleigh to Mt. Crumpit to dump it and waits to hear the sobs of the Whos when they wake up and discover the trappings of Christmas have disappeared. Imagine the Whos' dismay when they discover the evil-doings of Grinch in his anti-Santa guise. But what is that sound? It's not sobbing, but singing! Children simultaneously adore and fear this triumphant, twisted Seussian testimonial to the undaunted cheerfulness of the Whos, the transcendent nature of joy, and of course, the growth potential of a heart that's two sizes too small. This holiday classic is perfect for reading aloud to your favorite little Whos."
My Review: Such a classic, you didn't think I would forget to read it for Christmas did you?! This story has such a great message, that its not about the decorations, gifts or any of that stuff; the holidays are about love and those around us. Of all Dr. Seuss' books, this one doesn't seem as hard to read aloud, not too many made up words or tongue twisters. It was a little advanced from Munchkin but he still enjoyed the cadence and the illustrations.
Looking quite out of place and very disturbing in his makeshift Santa get-up, the Grinch slithers down chimneys with empty bags and stealing the Whos' presents, their food, even the logs from their humble Who-fires. He takes the ramshackle sleigh to Mt. Crumpit to dump it and waits to hear the sobs of the Whos when they wake up and discover the trappings of Christmas have disappeared. Imagine the Whos' dismay when they discover the evil-doings of Grinch in his anti-Santa guise. But what is that sound? It's not sobbing, but singing! Children simultaneously adore and fear this triumphant, twisted Seussian testimonial to the undaunted cheerfulness of the Whos, the transcendent nature of joy, and of course, the growth potential of a heart that's two sizes too small. This holiday classic is perfect for reading aloud to your favorite little Whos."
My Review: Such a classic, you didn't think I would forget to read it for Christmas did you?! This story has such a great message, that its not about the decorations, gifts or any of that stuff; the holidays are about love and those around us. Of all Dr. Seuss' books, this one doesn't seem as hard to read aloud, not too many made up words or tongue twisters. It was a little advanced from Munchkin but he still enjoyed the cadence and the illustrations.
My Rating: I think nearly every child had read or had this story read to them or at least heard of it! I am glad that it does have a message to it. I give it a rating of Four Paws.
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And since I promised two book to movie posts this month what could be better than this one?!
Movie Review:
Synopsis: Based on the book by the famous Dr. Seuss. Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of Whoville. In Whoville, live the Whos, an almost mutated sort of munchkinlike people. All the Whos love Christmas, yet just outside of their beloved Whoville lives the Grinch. The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos which he equally abhors. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriend the Grinch.
My Review: I am reviewing this version because it is the one I caught on TV this year (though I much prefer the traditional cartoon one). The effects in this movie were fantastic, I sure hope the makeup artists got an award for this movie. Definitely an updated modern version of the classic Christmas story. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of Jim Carrey's antics in this movie, it felt like he really made a joke out of the Grinch character. I adore little Cindy Lou Who, she is so fricking cute! I also thought the young Grinch was adorable too! Have you seen a soundtrack CD for this movie?! Because I loved it!
My Rating: I guess I might be too much of a traditionalist to really appreciate this remade version of the classic. I give it a rating of Two Paws and a Stump Wag.
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Discussion:
Well like I said above, I am not a huge fan of Jim Carrey in this role. I found it interesting the way they elaborated on the backstory of the Grinch, and they did a great job of getting the moral of the story through to viewers in the movie. I just can't help that I prefer the book and the classic cartoon movie. Maybe its just because that is what I grew up reading and watching.
So What do you think? Did you like the movie better or the book, or even the classic cartoon movie? Do you make sure it is part of your Holiday traditions?
