GRRR!! It is raining again! I woke up to a beautiful sunny day and even spent a few minutes outside reading in the sun - that is until my feet felt like they were frying. I also had a hummingbird buzzing my toes - it must have thought my pink toenails were some kind of flower! But now it has clouded over and is raining. And, I was bribing myself to write rubrics for my classes by promising myself a trip to the beach later on. I hope it clears up again. I am so sick of rain. I think I am getting webbed feet!

But at least it isn't snowing and freezing cold like in Kringle by Tony Abbott. For those of you who have been reading my blog, you know I am a Christmas freak. And when I saw this beautiful Scholastic book with the flying reindeer on the front I knew it was my next read. I finished it last night and what a fun read. Would make a wonderful family read aloud during the Holidays. A unique tale of how Kringle (Santa Claus) came into being. He was the son of parents who had helped the elves and they in return help Kringle save the world from the Goblins. The magical bell that his mother had found years before makes a sound that rings out his name. Kringle escapes from the Goblin attack and is taken in by the elves. Kringle is the child the Goblins seek, kidnapping all children in their path, both searching for him and feeding on their fear. Kringle knows he must rescue the children from the Goblins' underground den and does so with the help of the elves and the few humans that are left in the area after the Romans left. Quite a fascinating tale as the Nativity story is intertwined with Kringle's tale and that of the Longest Night of the Year.

Staying with the Christmas mode, Walter Wick has a new picture puzzle book - Can You See What I See? Night Before Christmas. I picked it up because I collect copies of the Night Before Christmas, but this is not an illustrated version of the poem. The poem is on the endpapers, but the pages are filled with Christmas ornaments, treats, decorations, etc. that children must find. I love the last blue-hued page with Santa's sleigh flying before the moon, with a small village below. This book will help fill those Christmas vacation hours for little ones. A gotta have under any child's Christmas tree.

It is still raining - harder than ever. Of well, guess that means I can't avoid writing those rubrics by escaping to the beach. Darn anyway!