Book Descriptions
for A Houseful of Christmas by Barbara Joosse and Betsy Lewin
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
When Granny hosts the entire family for dinner on Christmas Day, her house is filled to the brim with relatives. “ Whhhhh went the wind. Shhhh went the snow.” They eat, they open presents, and they sing songs. Then they get ready to go, but the storm outside is raging. “You can all sleep here!” Granny tells them. So it’s blankets and pillows on the floor, and mini-dramas in every corner. Little Otto is afraid there are monsters. Uncle Bert is dreaming of his firefighter days. Aunt Ivy can’t sleep next to three squirming boys . “Tick tick tick went the grandfather clock . Whhhhh went the wind. Shhhh went the snow.” Barbara Joosse captures the wonderful chaos of a large family gathering in this warm holiday romp illustrated with black pen lines and watercolor washes. (Ages 3–6)
CCBC Choices 2002 . © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2002. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
A traditional, heart-warming family Christmas celebration in the tradition of Cynthia Rylant's The Relatives Came.
Every Christmas, Granny's house is brim full of family and festive cheer--carols and presents and plenty of food, bows and gift wrap for Fat Cat to play with, and lots of company for Granny and her dog, Edgar.
This Christmas, snow starts to fall and it doesn't stop. Instead of going home, the whole family hunkers down for a cozy night in Granny's warm house.
Whhhhh went the wind,
but everyone was snug.
Shhhhhh went the snow,
but everyone was together.
Even during a blizzard, there's no place better than Granny's house for Christmas.
Every Christmas, Granny's house is brim full of family and festive cheer--carols and presents and plenty of food, bows and gift wrap for Fat Cat to play with, and lots of company for Granny and her dog, Edgar.
This Christmas, snow starts to fall and it doesn't stop. Instead of going home, the whole family hunkers down for a cozy night in Granny's warm house.
Whhhhh went the wind,
but everyone was snug.
Shhhhhh went the snow,
but everyone was together.
Even during a blizzard, there's no place better than Granny's house for Christmas.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.