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For me Mary Engelbreit and Christmas just go together. I picked up my love of this artist from my mom. She has liked her work for a long as I can remember and it was a tradition for us to get her a Mary Engelbreit calendar each year for her birthday. Which, incidentally is today. Happy birthday Mom!

So that brings in the Christmas part. But in looking around, there is LOT of Mary Engelbreit books that have to do with Christmas. Just Google her name + Christmas and you'll see what I mean. So for this post I have three mini-reviews of Christmas-y Mary Engelbreit books.

Believe: A Christmas Treasury

If I were an illustrator (which I'm totally not. Really. I can't even draw stick figures well) this would be the kind of book I would want to do. Believe is a collection of Christmas carols, poems, stories, and quotes that Mary Engelbreit picked out herself. Mostly it's poetry and carols, so it reads really quickly. Though this isn't necessarily a book you pick up and read straight through. There's more than enough things to read it as an advent style (one thing per night) or just read a couple pages every now and then. it's even got a handy ribbon bookmark to make that sort of thing easy. The one disappointing thing was that I wish the very few stories she has included had been more illustrated. They had a border around the outside but the huge blocks of text (no pictures) made them seem out of sync with the rest of the treasure. Other than that I have no complaints. In fact, this is the type of treasury I wish I had had at Christmas when I was a kid.

Shady Glade Rating: 9/10

Mary Engelbreit's A Merry Little Christmas: Celebrate from A to Z

If you've read Mary Engelbreit's version of The Night Before Christmas you're familiar with the character of Gregory Mouse. This book brings readers back to Gregory's mouse village to celebrate Christmas with a Seasonal Alphabet. Everything A if for Angel to Z is for the Zillion ways Christmas brings cheer. Each letter is pres

Humphrey's First Christmas by Carol Heyer

Those of you who are familiar with the biblical Christmas story know about the three kings who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus. The wise men are a staple in every Christmas nativity scene. But what about that camel that stand off on the side.

Humphrey's First Christmas is about the camels who carry the three kings to the holy land. Or rather, one camel named Humphrey. Humphrey is, for lack of a better phrase, a self-entitled camel. You pretty much get this right off when you read the first sentence of the book: "Beloved, Most Beauteous and Exalted King of All should be my name." But participating in the events of the very first Christmas are going to give Humphrey an attitude makeover.

This book has a great message about remembering the true meaning of Christmas, and the text is very entertaining. I love hearing the story of the first Christmas through Humphrey's voice. But the thing that really makes this book are the illustrations. Heyer's attention to detail is absolutely amazing.

I had the opportunity to introduce Carol Heyer's snowflake during Robert's Snow 2007. I posted some of the magnificent illustrations from this book over on that post, so if you'd like some close ups head over to that post. I mean, really, you need to see the crooked teeth on this camel!

Overall, this is one of the best children's books I've read about this particular part of the Christmas story, and it's one I'll be keeping around to read to my future children in December.

Shady Glade Rating: 9/10

Haunted Mansion by Various

Haunted Mansion collects together the first four previously released volumes of the Haunted Mansion comics put out by Disney and SLG. Rather than being on long story, the book is filled with several very short stories somehow connected to the mansion and its 999 happy haunts. Each story has a different writer/artist, so you’ll find a wide range of styles and stories in this short book.

First of all, I have to say that if you aren’t an avid fan of the Haunted Mansion at the Disney parks, this is probably not the book for you. Not that you won’t enjoy it, but you may not pick up on some of the nuances provided by these stories.

On the other hand, if you are a fan of the Haunted Mansion, you should definitely pick this one up! The diversity of artistic styles and stories means you are sure to find at least one that you enjoy. Plus, this is a collection of comics, so if you don’t find one you like then you didn’t waste a lot of time reading it.

I fall into this second category, so I loved this book. It was interesting to see all the stories that the writers came up with about the same set of characters. Like how that ghost in the coffin (it’s in the hallway) came to be there and why he wants out. There’s a story about how one of the people show in the portrait gallery came to be a resident, and why the groundskeeper braves the mansion even though he’s terrified of ghosts. My favorite stories though had to be the two about Fifi, the dearly departed dog from the pet cemetery who’s stuck in a tutu for eternity because that’s what she was dressed in before she died. You’ll find a whole host of other characters here too including the Bride, Madame Leota, and the headless knight.

My only complaint is that the book was way to short! I wish it had been a complete compilation of the comics, instead of just the first few volumes. This collection is also missing the serialized story that tells the background of the mansion itself. Other than that, it was wonderful, and I’ve reread it several times. Incidentally, if you’re a fan of the Haunted Mansion (which I assume you are if you’ve made it this far down the review) you should also check out The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies by Jason Surrell. It’s a great book to learn about the planning, construction, back story and mechanics of the ride.

Shady Glade Rating: 9/10

This post brought to you courtesy of Recommendation Week: Ghost Stories. Don't forget to nominate your own favorite ghost books by Friday!