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Your Holiday Book Guide

Award-Winning Books to Read This Season

by Jillian Bergsma Manning

When the holidays roll around, it’s time for snuggling up by a fire with a cup of cocoa and a good book—especially when you need a break from this season’s craziness. Whether you are looking for your next favorite read or giving a gift to a loved one, we have the books for you. Below are some of our award-winning winter and holiday titles from 2014. So read up, shop, and enjoy!

 

For Kids

Santa’s (Zany, Wacky, Just Not Right!) Night Before Christmas

By DK Simoneau, David Radman

“One Christmas Eve it was a cold stormy night; and nothing at the north pole was going quite right…” Santa’s (Zany, Wacky, Just Not Right!)Night Before Christmas is a whimsical tale of Santa's journey through a Christmas Eve that doesn't go as he expects. One small event leads to a series of surprises that change Santa and Christmas as we know it. It’s a story to spark the imagination, make kids giggle, and bring a smile even to a grownup's face.

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A Magical Journey to Nana-Tucket

By Jean Dapra

Nana-Tucket is a unique and wondrous island inhabited largely by grandmothers. Each year before Christmastime, children flock there to visit their Nanas, Omas, Grannies and Abuelas. Readers meet a whale who brings children to the island and a marching band led by a mermaid; learn about holiday traditions in different cultures; and discover the depth and power of a grandmother’s love.

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The Man With the Violin

By Kathy Stinson

This gorgeous picture book is based on the true story of Joshua Bell, the renowned American violinist who famously took his instrument down into the Washington D.C. subway for a free concert. More than a thousand commuters rushed by him, but only seven stopped to listen for more than a minute. In The Man With the Violin, bestselling author Kathy Stinson has woven a heart-warming story that reminds us all to stop and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.

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Rosie the Reindeer

By Chantell Taylor

In this take off of a classic Christmas story, Rosie the Reindeer features a determined little doe who challenges traditional gender roles at the North Pole. Rosie has always dreamed of flying Santa’s sleigh, but she is told only bucks are allowed on the team. She doesn’t give up. Instead, she gathers her girlfriends and on Christmas Eve they show the world that girls are capable of doing anything they put their minds and hearts to.

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The Adventures of Lovable Lobo: Lobo’s Howliday

By C.L. Murphy

It’s almost Christmas and Santa finds himself in quite the predicament due to unintended consequences as a result of trying something new. Lobo, and his raven sidekick, Roxy, travel to the North Pole to help the jolly ole one and are guided by the Arctic animals. The colors of the season delight along the way and make for a howling good holiday. Can you howl Ho Ho Ho?

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For Tweens and Teens

Christmas Nevermore

By Marc Cadieux, Herve Bastien

Christmas Nevermore is an inspiring adventure story in which worlds collide, from the villages of the Great North, down to Santa’s secret workshops, and finally to the realm of the Mother of the Sea, a character plucked from Inuit mythology. Readers are guided in their literary travels by orphans Polik and Nika, two young mixed-race Inuit children, who are being raised by their Shaman grandfather, Ikkuma.

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Terror at Deadwood Lake (Hometown Hunters Series)

By Lane Walker

Dre’s father had planned an unforgettable hunting trip for him as a graduation present. Little did they know how unforgettable it would become and what life-threatening dangers they would face. A terrifying near plane crash, a pack of menacing wolves, and a thunderous avalanche were just the beginning of their worst nightmare. Danger surrounds them as they travel deep into the mountains with Mad Mike, their off-the-hook pilot and guide. This part of Alaska is known for its incredible beauty and untamed wilderness. There’s adventure around every corner for someone like Dre who’s lived his entire life on Kodiak Island off Alaska’s southern coast.

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Winter in the Soul

By Jennifer Novotney

In a world divided by power and greed, seventeen-year-old Lilika harbors an intense desire to return to Winter in the Soul, the place her family left to escape the darkness that was manifesting from a coldness of the soul.

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For Adults

A Fantastic Holiday Season, Vol. 1

By Kevin J. Anderson

What do writers give for the holiday season? They give the gift of stories that take the reader away to fantastical times or places, tales that can be blood-curdling or heart-warming, adventures that capture the heart of the season. This collection of stories features more than 10 incredible authors telling their seasonal tales.

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Paddling to Winter

By Julie Buckles

Reporter Julie Buckles tells the story of a year-long canoe honeymoon traveling the Voyageur Highway from Lake Superior to Wollaston Lake where she and husband Charly Ray stayed for the winter. Filled with humor, love, adventure, and as one reviewer notes—characters worthy of a Coen Brothers film.

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Seasons of Our Lives: Winter

Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett

The award-winning stories in the four volumes of Seasons of Our Lives will charm, intrigue, captivate, and inspire you because they speak of our lives almost as much as they do the authors'. The details of childhood, coming of age, adulthood, and aging—of passion, friendship, love, sacrifice, betrayal, disappointment, survival, and unexpected joy—of lives intersecting with history—of ordinary yet extraordinary experiences are unique to these award-winning authors and yet at their core these stories tell of all our lives.

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Chasing the Phantom: In Pursuit of Myth and Meaning in the Realm of the Snow Leopard

By Eduard Fischer

Eduard Fischer takes us on an exploration of myth, art, science, and the sacred space of high mountains. This is an account of adventure and deep reflection accompanied by a selection of the author’s stunning color photographs.

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Aleutian Freighter: A History of Shipping in the Aleutian Islands
By James Mackovjak

Unique among U.S. maritime cargo operations, the Aleutian trade is and has always been carried on by small break-bulk cargo vessels, through severe weather, and a grueling schedule; not an industry for the weak, timid, or foolhardy. Contained in these pages is a history of the Aleutian trade, from the sailing vessels of the 19th century that transported salted cod, to the mailboats that for decades provided the region s only scheduled communication with the outside world, to the make-do, rough-and-tumble, seafood-driven fleet expansion of the 1980s, to the small but capable fleet of today. It is a history of small ships and the people who owned and operated them, set in a severe and unforgiving environment, and framed by an evolving marine resource-based economy.

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