In Painting the Christmas Trees, Joe Weil explores the meaning of neighborhood, both its rootedness and its transience in terms of the port city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, in which he was formed as a poet. His work mixes different registers of language, from the Rust Belt working class speech of his family and friends to the poetic influences of his first reading: Roethke, Williams, Stevens, and Yeats. His Irish Catholic working class upbringing instills his poetry with a sense of communion. The poems in this book are anchored to the loss and the brio of people he has known and worked among both as a toolmaker and as a poet. He is essentially a spiritual comic in so far as his interest lies as much with the vitally ugly and broken as it does with the smoothly eloquent. Unlike many volumes of poetry, Painting the Christmas Trees is full of characters, not unlike a novel. Weil believes a poet should reclaim the name of storyteller. He is not ashamed to be one.

Paintings and artworks in other media featuring Christmas trees, created by art teachers in imitation of the styles and techniques of famous artists from the Renaissance to the present, and accompanied by rhyming text, introduce art history.

Art Workshop for Children is not just another book of straightforward art projects. The book's unique child-led approach provides a framework for cultivating creative thinking and encourages the wonder that comes when children are allowed to freely explore the creative process and their materials. As children work through these open-ended workshops, adults are guided on how to be facilitators who provide questions, encourage deep thinking, and help spark an excitement for discovery. Children explore basic materials and workshops that use minimal supplies, and then gradually add new materials to fill the art cabinets as well as new skills and more complex workshops. Most workshops are suitable to preschool-aged children, and each contains ideas for explorations and new twists to engage older or more experienced artists. Interspersed throughout are sidebar essays that introduce perspectives on mess-making, imperfection, the role of adult, collaborative art, and thoughts on the Reggio Emilia method, a self-guided teaching philosophy. These pieces underscore the value of art-making with children, and support the parent/teacher/care-giver on how to successfully lead, question, and navigate their children through the workshops to result in the fullest experiences.

They glitter. They shimmer. They bask in the glow of gently rotating color wheels. They last forever. Aluminum Christmas trees are the most spectacular souvenirs of our most recent Christmas Past-the Christmases of the super-mom 1960s.Season's Gleamings is the first book to celebrate these magnificent trees. More than 45 stunning color photographs reveal the beauty and range of aluminum arbor, from red-foil tabletop models to majestic seven-footers. Photographers J. Shimon & J. Lindemann have trained their camera on their own collection of vintage trees, capturing them complete with hi-fi's and highballs.Aluminum trees were born in 1959 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, once the "Aluminum Cookware Capitol of the World." Within a couple of years, shiny, foil-branched Christmas trees were being made by dozens of companies and selling in the millions. Elvis adorned Graceland's front yard with a row of lighted aluminum trees. Their most famous appearance was in A Charlie Brown Christmas, when Lucy ordered Charlie Brown to "get the biggest aluminum tree you can find."Today the trade in vintage aluminum trees is fierce, and these crisp, beautiful symbols of modern living are again brightening thousands of American holidays. Season's Gleamings is a reminder of how beautiful an aluminum tree can be and makes a perfect gift for lovers of Christmases both real and artificial.

Explores the roots of the Christmas tree tradition, tracing customs from the Middle Ages to the present day to reveal how it first became part of mainstream American culture and has since become popular worldwide.

One family tells the history of the Christmas tree while decorating its own In this warmly illustrated book, a family trims its Christmas tree. As the mother, father, grandmother, and children decorate together, they tell the story of how Christmas trees came to be, including the changes in size and appearance over time, and the way ornaments were first introduced. Tomie dePaola effortlessly weaves together little-known historical facts with the story of one family’s traditions. This fixed-layout ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book, features read-along narration.

Bring out your child’s creativity and imagination with more than 60 artful activities in this completely revised and updated edition Art making is a wonderful way for young children to tap into their imagination, deepen their creativity, and explore new materials, all while strengthening their fine motor skills and developing self-confidence. The Artful Parent has all the tools and information you need to encourage creative activities for ages one to eight. From setting up a studio space in your home to finding the best art materials for children, this book gives you all the information you need to get started. You’ll learn how to: * Pick the best materials for your child’s age and learn to make your very own * Prepare art activities to ease children through transitions, engage the most energetic of kids, entertain small groups, and more * Encourage artful living through everyday activities * Foster a love of creativity in your family

This charming tale of an overgrown pine always being passed by for Christmas, and what his woodland friends do to help him, is sure to become a Christmas classic. With delightful illustrations by wildlife artist Michael Monroe and enchanting text from Colleen Monroe, the birds, deer and squirrel of this story help make their special friend's wish come true.

Once there was a tree that stood in a field away from the other trees. It longed to be part of the forest—or part of anything at all. After many lonely years, its dream came true. And the little fir tree's life changed forever! They put golden tinsel on his branches And golden bells And green icicles And silver stars. And soon—o shining wonder—the little fir tree was . . . A Christmas tree Celebrate the true spirit of Christmas with heartwarming text by the author of Goodnight Moon and exquisite, glowing paintings by award-winning artist Jim LaMarche.

This book showcases the magnificent collection of Neapolitan Baroque angels and crche figures that have thrilled visitors from across the country each Christmas season for more than 50 years. New fiber-optic lighting and a new tree now enhance its beauty.