Monday 4 December 2017

Advent Calendar Day 4: Christmas Book(s)

Today I'm going to re-visit a couple of Christmas books from previous posts.

The Night Before Christmas
The night before Christmas and other Christmas poems has been on my shelves for a very long time. It's in poor condition with missing plates and damage to the binding, but it was a gift from a dear friend and is very precious to me.

More images from The Night before Christmas and other Christmas Poems here


The Night Before Christmas
The Night Before Christmas 


The Christmas Kangaroo
The Christmas Kangaroo is an enchanting story about Mirram the Kangaroo and her son Joey. One Christmas Eve they meet a very harassed Father Christmas, behind schedule, and with his sleigh still laden with undelivered toys.

I found this delightful book on a trip to Australia in March 2011. If you are ever in Adelaide, I recommend a visit to Michael Treloar Antiquarian Booksellers on North Terrace, where this book came from.  

To read more about Mirram and Joey, please visit this previous post.  
The Christmas Kangaroo
The Christmas Kangaroo

Do you have a forever book?  The one that is long past its best but is still too precious to part with?

I'm linking with Julie over at Julie's ScrapbookMore from my Advent Calendar tomorrow.

40 comments:

  1. Good morning dear friend! I am loving following your calendar, and yes, I have a few old books that I will never part with, but they are all purchases I made as an adult. I no longer have the few books I had as a child, but if I did, I'd hang on to the old Cinderella book I'd grab every time, over and over again. What fond memories I have of that book!

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    1. Hello Anita, I was wondering if you had ever tried to find a copy of your much-loved Cinderella book. A few online searches would probably do the trick although finding it in a second-hand book shop would be more rewarding. I’ve spent years replacing my childhood books but have yet to find one with my name in! The books I have now are not the ones I had back then (they often have someone else’s name in), but just seeing them again takes me back across the years.

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  2. I was wondering what they ate in Australia for
    Christmas...I thought it might be kangaroo..!
    As kangaroo is very tasty...but no..l found this...
    'Christmas in Australia is in the middle of summer,
    therefore the usual Christmas meal is often salads
    and cold meats, while some of the older generation
    still have the traditional roast meats, baked vegetables
    and plum pudding'...!

    I suppose the book l treasure the most is...The Godfather..
    I have an original from 1969..it covers the family from
    1945~55..l've never read it from start to finish...l don't
    need to...know it off by heart...! And, the film made in
    1972 is a classic..And the two that followed in 74 and 90.

    AND...I know loads of kangaroo jokes....
    What kind of music do kangaroos listen to?
    Hip Hop!
    What kind of music do sophisticated kangaroos
    listen to?
    Hopera!

    What do stylish kangaroos wear? Jumpsuits! :).

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    1. I love your kangaroo jokes Willie, especially the Hopera one!

      How do sick kangaroos get better?
      They have a hoperation!

      Karen’s family all get together at Christmas, the year we were there 40+ family members turned up. All of them came with an ice box full of beer and a large platter of cold food, or a joint of meat or a pudding – there was so much food it would have fed the forty thousand never mind forty. It was a fantastic Christmas, we all sat outside from early morning until late in the evening when the barbecue was lit, and everyone started eating again. One of the family dressed up in a Santa suite to hand out the present's goodness knows what the temperature was, but I can tell you it was HOT.

      I’ve not read the Godfather or seen the films, although Terry has watched them loads of times.

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    2. Ah! That's lovely...That's about the same
      number who turned up at our do's out in
      Sicily..All dayers..great fun, and, l think
      that's why my do's were so popular, the
      English, did'nt seem to do functions like
      it, just a few hours, and that was it!
      If you came to one of my do's, you were
      there for the duration...or until l unlocked
      your shackles..HeHe!

      And..The Godfather..don't bother with the book,
      try seeing the film..l'll say no more...! :).

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    3. I think we should move Christmas to August, that way we could sit outside rather than slumped in front of the TV!

      The film it is then.

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  3. I love the illustrations here. They are so beautiful! I must get out my Christmas children's books -- not so old as yours but loved!

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    1. I love children’s books – old, new – just so long as they are pretty. Perhaps you will share some of yours on your blog one day?

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  4. The Christmas Kangaroo - perfect Christmas story for Down Under.

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    1. It's a lovely book all tied up with holiday memories from Oz.

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  5. I'd never heard of The Christmas Kangaroo. It sounds delightful. And The Night Before Christmas...a wonderful classic.
    Hope your day is jolly.
    x

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    1. Very jolly thank you Sandra and I hope the same for you. x

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  6. The books are both gorgeous, the kangaroo one sounds great. Hugs, Valerie

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    1. Thanks Valerie and a big Hug for you too.

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  7. Barbara! I have so many books I will never part with. Many of them are replacements of my favourites from childhood.I have so much fun tracking them down. Faster online - but so much more fun to find them in a secondhand bookshop! I am so enjoying seeing a post from you everyday for your Advent Calendar. I hope your friend Anita finds a copy of the Cinderella book she loved as a child!

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    1. Dear Colleen we really are kindred spirits! Nearly all my books are replacements of my favourite childhood books. I love tracking them down and prefer to buy in second-hand bookshops, if at all possible. We are so alike in so many ways I’m sure we must be sisters. :)

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    1. I think so too Debbie! Thanks for coming over and leaving a comment.

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  9. Speaking of Australian Christmas, this song about six White Boomers, spells Christmas for me. And I have rather a lot of books I cannot part with. Battered and much loved friends.

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    1. I haven’t heard that song for years thanks so much for the link – a real trip down memory lane.

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  10. Now I wonder which one draws me in? I've not seen a copy of that in many years and often wonder if the song "Seven White Boomers" was dreamed up from reading it. Your first book is not the same as my original, but a pic of that will come on my blog a bit later in the Calendar!!!! Thanks & take care.

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    1. Hello Susan, you are the second person to mention, “Seven White Boomers” this evening. I can’t believe I had forgotten it. I’ve enjoyed listening to it again.
      I shall look forward to seeing your book. Hugs Barbara

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  11. I also have one of those Night Before Christmas books, but it's all stained and falling apart, too. I wouldn't part with it for the world, even though I don't remember when or where I purchased it. I bring it out every year at Christmas and it will be shown on my blog soon. Nothing like yours, because mine is a "booklet."

    Gotta love yours and the beautiful photos you shared. The Christmas Kangaroo book sounds interesting. Too bad I'll never find it in the States. Great Day 4, dear Barbara.

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    1. I shall look forward to seeing your version of the Night Before Christmas.

      I’ve never seen a copy of The Christmas Kangaroo in the UK (other than the one I bought home from Australia) so it doesn’t look as if that particular kangaroo travelled very far. :)

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  12. More new to me titles. As a lover of books, I've been thrilled to find so many new ones via the Scavenger Hunt.
    Arilx

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    1. Hi Aril, this is the first Scavenger Hunt I’ve been involved with, but I’m loving it, especially when books are the subject! x

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  13. In all our 60+ years of living in Central and Southern Africa we had a proper English Christmas; turkey, ham and Christmas pudding but in the evening when it was cooler. But that was our family, many did as the Australians do in Barbara's comment. A Braai, (barbecue) usually lamb and T Bone steaks with plenty of cold beers!! Many companies in Johannesburg and Pretoria had 'Christmas in July' staff parties when it was very cold!!

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    1. Hello Jak, Christmas in July sounds like fun! Thank you for sharing your memories with us all.

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  14. A Christmas Kangaroo - what a super idea! I have a funny kangaroo story - in Germany we only have red squirrels, and one day from the breakfast table at my mum's, my son (then aged about 3) saw a grey squirrel hopping around in the garden and shouted excitedly - kangaroo! Kangaroo!

    I have my dad's copy of 'The Wind in the Willows' which I always get out and read at Christmas - the part when Mole and Ratty rediscover Mole's home, and the field mice come carolling.

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    1. Hi Sue,
      I love the story of your son and the kangaroo, and can’t stop smiling.

      It's been a while since I last read The Wind in the Willows, but now I want to read it again.

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  15. Fun to see your Christmas books. I still have many of my childhood books despite them being rather worn out, so hard to part with old friends.

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    1. Hi Marcia, I’m sad to say most of mine were given away, but I’m gradually replacing them. It’s such a thrill to find something I recognise from my childhood.

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  16. I'm so enjoying this advent series.
    I love the night before Christmas books ...

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you so much Jan, it's lovely to know you are enjoying the posts. x

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  17. I want to read the Christmas Kangaroo!!!

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  18. Love!! I have some very old Walt Disney books, that I got when I was like 13, in Walt Disney world. I will never get rid of those! Big Hugs!

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    1. How lovely, I wish I still had my childhood books but most of them were given away. Hugs Barbara

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  19. These are lovely Barbara! I don't have any childhood Christmas books, but I have collected a few vintage ones. I have a Tasha Tudor book "The Christmas Cat", that never sold in my shop and I removed it early because I decided I couldn't part with it!

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    1. I had a beautiful copy of Tasha Tudor’s Adventures of a Beagle published in 1961 which I stupidly sold! I always promised myself I would keep the next copy I found, but of course I’ve never found another one. :-(

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I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
Barbara xx