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Give The Gift Of Reading

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By MICHELE SAGER

msager@tampatrib.com

Published: December 23, 2008

TAMPA - When children get done decking the halls and tearing into toys, the state Department of Education recommends slipping them a book.

The agency has released its annual Holiday Book List to help parents choose holiday-themed reading material during the winter break.

The list offers suggestions for levels ranging from preschool to high school. The books cover a variety of holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan and Kwanzaa.

Some titles are: "Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins" and "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."

State education leaders said research shows that students who read on holiday breaks and vacations maintain their academic progress.

Shalini Murthy, a fourth-grade teacher at Chiles Elementary School in Tampa Palms, said reading daily can make a big difference.

"Reading helps develop language skills and gives students new experiences," she said. "It benefits students in other ways, like affecting their behavior, because it teaches them how to settle down for a quiet reading time."

Because the winter break can be busy for families, Murthy suggests starting or ending the day with a book.

"It may be easier than trying to take a book break in the middle when so much is going on," she said.

Murthy also said practicing reading skills doesn't just come from books.

"You can have children follow a cookie recipe," she said. "Take them grocery shopping and have them read the nutritional information. You can even have them write about their holiday experiences and make their own books. It makes a great homemade gift for next year."

The state's reading list and other reading tips can be found at www.justreadfamilies.org.

Elementary (Pre-K - Grade 2)

A New Coat for Anna, Harriet Ziefert

A Child's Christmas in Wales, Dylan Thomas

Fluffy's Thanksgiving, Kate McMullan

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Dr. Seuss

Inside Out Grandma -- A Hanukkah Story, Joan Rothenberg

The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg

Feliz Navidad: Two Stories Celebrating Christmas, Jose Feliciano

Biscuit Celebrates Hanukkah, Ayssa Satin Capucilli

Christmas Is..., Gail Gibbons

Las Posadas: An Hispanic Christmas Celebration, Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith

A Kwanzaa Celebration Pop-up Book, Nancy Williams

D Is for Dreidel: A Hanukkah Alphabet Book, Tanya Lee Stone

A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition, Lee Mendelson

Christmas Alphabet 10th Anniversary Edition (pop-up book), Robert Sabuda

Darinka's Nutcracker Ballet, Rachel Nickerson Luna

Feliz Navidad: Two Stories Celebrating Christmas, Jose Feliciano, David Diaz (illustrator)

Festival of Lights: The Story of Hanukkah, Maida Silverman, Carolyn Ewing (illustrator)

Lanterns and Firecrackers: A Chinese New Year Story, Jonny Zucker, Jan Barger Cohen

The Legend of the Poinsettia, Tomie dePaola

New Year's Day (True Books series), Dana Meachen Rau

Olive, the Other Reindeer, J. Otto Seibold

Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story, Angela Shelf Medearis, Daniel Minter (illustrator)

Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve? (based on Norwegian folktale), Jan Brett (illustrator)

Just Enough is Plenty, Barbara Diamond Goldin

A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree, Colleen Monroe

Mooseltoe, Margie Palatini

Farolitos of Christmas, Rudolfo Anaya

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, Robert Barry

Elementary (Grades 3 - 5)

Hurray For Three Kings' Day!, Lori Marie Carlson

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, Eric A. Kimmel

Light the Lights! A Story about Celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas, Margaret Moorman

The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams

Gift of the Magi, O. Henry

Ramadan, Suhaib Hamaid Ghazi

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story, Gloria Houston

Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story, Angela Shelf Medearis

Christmas Around the World, Mary Lankford

Seven Candles for Kwanzaa, Andrea Davis Pinkney

By the Hanukkah Light, Sheldon Oberman

Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat, Naomi Howland

Seven Days of Kwanzaa, Angela Shelf Medearis

Christmas House, Ann Turner

Children of Christmas, Cynthia Rylant

Middle School (Grades 6 - 8)

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving, Catherine O'Neill Grace; Sissee Brimberg

William Bradford: Plymouth's Faithful Pilgrim, Gary D. Schmidt

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson

Feast of Lights, Ellen S. Jaffe

Timothy Cratchitt's Christmas Carol, Dale Powell, Charles Dickens

The Christmas Box, Richard Paul Evans

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, Dean Morrissey (illustrator)

Christmas Treasury: Heirloom Edition, Christian Birmingham

Circle of Wonder: A Native American Christmas Story, N. Scott Momaday

Hallelujah Handel, Douglas Cowling, Jason Walker (illustrator)

The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Irene Lieblich (illustrator)

Ramadan, Susan L. Douglass, Jeni Reeves (illustrator)

Seven Days of Kwanzaa, Angela Shelf Medearis

A Kwanzaa Story: Or How One Gentleman Found His Way, Nancy Guthorn Harrington

Hanukkah Lights: Stories of the Season, Harlan Ellison, Anne Roiphe, Elie Wiesel

The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories, O. Henry

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem, Maya Angelou

High School (Grades 9 - 12)

The Special Guest, Lee Allen

The Angel Doll, Jerry Bledsoe

All Through the Night, Mary Higgins Clark

Miracle on 34th Street, Valentine Davies

A Different Kind of Christmas, Alex Haley

A Cup of Christmas Tea, Tom Hegg

The Christmas Cross, Max Lucado

The Modern Magi, Carol Lynn Pearson

The Christmas Tree, Julie Salamon

The Christmas Wish, Richard Siddoway

The Christmas Store, Ray Sipherd

The Christmas Letters, Lee Smith

Certain Poor Shepherds, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

A Stranger for Christmas, Carol Lynn Pearson

The Complete Kwanzaa: Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest, D. Winbush Riley

Hanukkah Lights: Stories of the Season, Harlan Ellison, Anne Roiphe, Elie Wiesel

Recipes for Ramadan, Indrani Ibrahim

Celebrating Ramadan, Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, Lawrence Migdale

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, Maria Augusta Trapp, Maria Augusta Von Trapp

A Christmas Memory, One Christmas and the Thanksgiving Visitor, Truman Capote

It's a Wonderful Life, Stephen Cox

Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, Ace Collins

Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day, Maitefa Angaza

Angels and Other Strangers: Family Christmas Stories, Katherine Paterson

Hanukkah Trivia: 150 Fun & Fascinating Facts About Hanukkah, Jennie Miller Helderman, Mary Caulkins

A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition, Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez

Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (813) 865-1523.

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