Since I'm still working on Loyalty's Web, a fun medieval romance by Arizonan Joyce DiPastena, I'm going to save that review for next week. Today, I want to tell you all about a wonderful author/illustrator I just discovered. Her name is Nancy Tillman, and I'd never heard of her until I saw her featured in BookPage. The illustrations in the sidebar just enchanted me, so I bought both The Spirit of Christmas and On the Night You Were Born. Both books are beautiful - the pictures have this vivid, but dreamlike quality that just really speaks to me.

On the Night You Were Born is my favorite, so I'm going to start with it. The book celebrates the birth of a child. I couldn't even get through the first sentence without feeling tears well up in my eyes:

The rest of the story touched me in a similar way as it talked about trumpets blowing in heaven, birds staying on the windowsill, bears dancing at the zoo, and geese honking in the sky all to herald the arrival of a new baby. It's a story that will make every child feel unique and special. If you can read it to your little ones without sniffling a little, then you're made of stronger stuff than I am.

On the Night You Were Born is the perfect gift for a young child or a new mother. It's sweet, beautiful and tender. I adore it.

Grade: A

The Spirit of Christmas is also sweet and beautiful, but it's not quite as impactful as On the Night You Were Born. I made it through its opening lines without any tears:

The "Spirit of Christmas" goes on to teach an important lesson about the true meaning of the holiday. It's a familiar message:

Although The Spirit of Christmas didn't capture me as much as On the Night You Were Born, it's still a lovely book with incredible illustrations that will capture the imaginations of children big and small.

Grade: B

(Book images are from Barnes & Noble; BookPage excerpt is from Nancy Tillman's website.)

From little ole me here at BBB to all my readers, wherever you may be - MERRY CHRISTMAS! May you find all kinds of wonderful secrets under your tree, between the pages of a book, and in the smiles of family and friends. Have a wonderful holiday.