What a wonderful way to mark the passing of this month!

We are thoroughly enjoying reading a holiday book a day, and it lends a nice rhythm to our end-of-day as we look forward to opening the gift bag, discovering the book and snuggling by the Christmas tree.

Day Eight brought us The Remarkable Christmas of the Cobbler's Sons.
This is another new-to-us story, rescued from the discard bin at the library!
Based on a traditional Tyrolean folktale, it tells the stories of the sons of a very poor cobbler and their encounter, on Christmas Eve, with the magic and mischief of the Goblin King.
The crushing poverty of the family is told without sentimentality, and had a strong effect on our 6 year old as she was brought into the sparse cabin with the empty table and empty bellies. The cheerful father with his creative coping skills humbled us parents.  We ran out of time to finish this one, so I will finish up this posting when we get the chance!