Alexandria Team Building Puzzle
November 2, 2020December 2020 Posters
December 1, 2020Holiday Book Recommendations
We want to share some holiday spirit! So we asked our users if they have a favorite Christmas/holiday/winter book that they recommend. Here’s what we got.
Responses from our users:
An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco
From Lincoln Elementary – Augusta, Kansas
The Stowell family is abuzz with holiday excitement, and Frankie, the youngest boy, is the most excited of all. But there's a cloud over the joyous season: Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and Pa hasn't returned yet from his trip to Lansing. He promised to bring back the oranges for the mantelpiece. Every year there are nine of them nestled among the evergreens, one for each of the children. But this year, heavy snows might mean no oranges . . . and, worse, no Pa!
This is a holiday story close to Patricia Polacco's heart. Frankie was her grandmother's youngest brother, and every year she and her family remember this tale of a little boy who learned--and taught--an important lesson about giving, one Christmas long ago. (Goodreads)
Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting by Jim Murphy
From Skyridge High School – Lehi, Utah
On July 29th 1914, the world's peace was shattered as the artillery of the Austria-Hungary Empire began shelling the troops of the country to its south. What followed was like a row of falling dominoes as one European country after another rushed into war. Soon most of Europe was fighting in this calamitous war that could have been avoided. This was, of course, the First World War. But who could have guessed that on December 25 the troops would openly defy their commanding officers by stopping the fighting and having a spontaneous celebration of Christmas with their "enemies"? (Goodreads)
Dasher by Matt Tavares
From Brewer Community School – Brewer, Maine
Dasher is an adventurous young reindeer with a wish in her heart. She spends her days with her family under the hot sun in a traveling circus, but she longs for a different life -- one where there is snow beneath her hooves and the North Star above her head. One day, when the opportunity arises, Dasher seizes her destiny and takes off in pursuit of the life she wants to live. It's not long before she meets a nice man in a red suit with a horse-drawn sleigh – a man named Santa. And soon, with the help of a powerful Christmas wish, nothing will be the same. (Goodreads)
Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares.
From Brewer Community School – Brewer, Maine
Red and Lulu make their nest in a particularly beautiful evergreen tree. It shades them in the hot months and keeps them cozy in the cold months, and once a year the people who live nearby string lights on their tree and sing a special song. But one day, something unthinkable happens, and Red and Lulu are separated. It will take a miracle for them to find each another again. Luckily, it's just the season for miracles. (Goodreads)
Recommendations from Alexandria:
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
From our Product Manager
Who would want to harm Discworld's most beloved icon? Very few things are held sacred in this twisted, corrupt, heartless -- and oddly familiar -- universe, but the Hogfather is one of them. Yet here it is, Hogswatchnight, that most joyous and acquisitive of times, and the jolly old, red-suited gift-giver has vanished without a trace. And there's something shady going on involving an uncommonly psychotic member of the Assassins' Guild and certain representatives of Ankh-Morpork's rather extensive criminal element. Suddenly Discworld's entire myth system is unraveling at an alarming rate. Drastic measures must be taken, which is why Death himself is taking up the reins of the fat man's vacated sleigh . . . which, in turn, has Death's level-headed granddaughter, Susan, racing to unravel the nasty, humbuggian mess before the holiday season goes straight to hell and takes everyone along with it. (Goodreads)
The Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao
From our Product Manager
As a member of the Jade Society, twelve-year-old Faryn Liu dreams of honoring her family and the gods by becoming a warrior. But the Society has shunned Faryn and her brother Alex ever since their father disappeared years ago, forcing them to train in secret. Then, during an errand into San Francisco, Faryn stumbles into a battle with a demon--and helps defeat it. She just might be the fabled Heaven Breaker, a powerful warrior meant to work for the all-mighty deity, the Jade Emperor, by commanding an army of dragons to defeat the demons. That is, if she can prove her worth and find the island of the immortals before the Lunar New Year. (Goodreads)
Zombie Christmas Carol by Jim McCann
From our UX Designer
Gather your family close, board up the doors, and heed well the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge - a man whom no fire could warm, whose cold heart pumped ice through his veins and whose lips uttered a firm "BAH!" to any sort of happiness. Learn from his experience as he is visited by the undead corpse of his old friend, Jacob Marley, on Christmas Eve. And join him on his journey to Christmases past aided by another corpse intent on showing Scrooge the origin of the Hungry Death consuming the land. God help us, every one! (Goodreads)
Auntie Claus by Elise Primavera
From our UX Designer
Auntie Claus is just another eccentric New Yorker--or is she? Young Sophie has often wondered about her unusual great-aunt, Auntie Claus. She lives in penthouse 25C at the Bing Cherry Hotel and is "so "curioso! After all, Auntie Claus serves Christmas cookies all year long and her tree is always the best-decorated in the city. And then there's her annual "business trip," right around the holidays. This year Sophie is determined to get to the bottom of Auntie Claus's mysterious ways. Put on your mittens and bundle up for an adventure beyond your wildest dreams. "Ho, ho, ho!" (Goodreads)
A Murder for her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner
From our Director of Development
After her father's murder, Alice seeks help from a mysterious Lady Jenny. While wandering around York, two boys run into her and knock her down. To make amends, they take her home with them for shelter and a hot meal. "Home" is not an orphanage, as she'd first thought, but the dormitory for the York Minster's Boys' Choir. And for a lark, Alice's new friends decide to disguise Alice as a boy and smuggle her into the choir to see how long she can sing undiscovered. It becomes more than a game of masquerade, though, when Alice overhears a conversation between one of her father's murderers and an official of the cathedral. Now it's a game of life and death, and if Alice is discovered, it will be the end of her. (Goodreads)
Inspired by these selections? Want to recommend something of your own? Leave a comment!
