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Friday, November 30, 2012

Favorite Christmas Books ~ Pioneer Edition

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I’ll pretend like I didn’t forget a couple books on my previous Christmas book lists and tell you that I planned to do a ‘pioneer version’ all along. That will work, right?

1. Kirsten’s Surprise: A Christmas Story by Janet Shaw from the American Girl Collection

“Kirsten and her family celebrate their first Christmas in America, and Kirsten wants to keep some of their old Swedish traditions alive in the new country.” Kirsten's Surprise is a great way to combine celebrations around the world, American immigrants, and pioneers all in one! Kirsten holds a special place in my heart with her secret plans for a St. Lucia celebration, one of my favorite traditions. The story takes place in 1854.

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2. A Pioneer Christmas: Celebrating in the Backwoods in 1841 by Barbara Greenwood

A Pioneer Christmas is a companion book to A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840, one of my family’s favorites! The Robertsons, a pioneer family with Scottish roots, celebrate Christmas with stirring plum pudding, making pomanders, playing winter games, singing Christmas carols, decorating their home, and reading the Christmas story.

The Pioneer Sampler books (including A Pioneer Thanksgiving: A Story of Harvest Celebrations in 1841) combine fiction stories with recipes, hand-on activities, historical information, and more to make the pioneer days come alive for children. (A Pioneer Sampler and A Pioneer Thanksgiving are both available at Amazon.com, but A Pioneer Christmas is only available through third party sellers. I found that Rainbow Resource has inexpensive copies available.)

 

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3. Christmas in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

And, of course, Christmas in the Big Woods. Because an American pioneer Christmas wouldn't be complete without Laura Ingalls. Would it?

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