Christmas Legends from Around the World: Meet 20 Legendary Christmas Characters - From Krampus and La Befana to the Icelandic Yule Cat, with Fun Facts ... Pictures for Ages 3-6 (Little Curious Minds) - Hardcover

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Twenty Christmas legends from around the world, retold for the youngest readers and brought to life in full color - now in a durable hardcover edition.

Long before Santa Claus, families across Europe and beyond told stories of the strange and wonderful beings who visit at Christmas. Christmas Legends from Around the World introduces children aged 3 to 6 to twenty of them, one character at a time, in short read-aloud chapters, each paired with a full-page illustration.

Who children will meet:

- The gift-bringers: Saint Nicholas of Myra, whose kindness became the story of Santa Claus; Ded Moroz and Snegurochka the Snow Maiden from Russia; Julemanden from Denmark; Olentzero, the Basque charcoal maker who lives up in the mountains; La Befana, the Italian witch who brings sweets on Epiphany; Lutzelfrau, who arrives on Saint Lucia's Day with apples and nuts; and the Three Wise Men.

- The watchful ones: Krampus from the Alps; Knecht Ruprecht and Belsnickel from Germany; Perchta, "the bright one" of Alpine tradition; the Kallikantzaros of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria; and Gryla, the Icelandic ogress.

- Animals and household helpers: the Icelandic Yule Cat, who checks whether you have new clothes; the Nordic Yule Goat, who once pulled Thor's chariot; the Tomte, who guards Scandinavian farms in exchange for a bowl of porridge; Santa's reindeer; and Catalonia's Caganer.

What makes this one different. Most Christmas-around-the-world books for this age tour countries and customs: the food, the songs, the gift-giving. This one is built around the characters. Each entry is a who's-who with a name, a country, and the odd, memorable detail children actually repeat afterwards: the cat with glowing eyes, the goat that knocks over the tree, the maiden whose laughter makes snowflakes fall.

Written to be read aloud. Every legend stands alone in a few short paragraphs, so it can be finished in one sitting, used as a December countdown, or dipped into at random. Bright, friendly illustrations keep the folklore wonder-filled rather than frightening: the figures that unsettle in grown-up folklore books are gentle here, which makes the collection usable with preschool and early elementary groups, in a multicultural holiday collection, or at bedtime.

From Iceland to Greece, from the Basque mountains to the Russian winter, this is a first window on how other families celebrate. It builds curiosity about other cultures while keeping the magic of Christmas alive, and it answers the question children ask every December: is Santa Claus the same everywhere?

A square 8.5-inch hardcover with case laminate binding, printed in full color throughout - built to survive being reread every December, and to hold up on a gift table or a library shelf. Part of the Little Curious Minds series of illustrated books for curious young readers.

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