Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

I enjoyed this book as much as the first.  I did have a problem though.  I lost it after reading the first little bit and I couldn't find it.  When I did find it again...it didn't take me long to finish it at all.  I really enjoyed the adventure.  I like the new Tyson character and am really excited to read the next volume to hear about some characters that were a surprise for me.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

I couldn't help but giggle when I read this book.  It is such an enjoyable read.  I picked this book up not really intending to read it right away.  My neighbor had given it to us for Christmas....THANK YOU NEIGHBOR!  I picked it up to see how hard it would be and ended up stuck to it.  I enjoyed it thoroughly!   This is a super fun story about some mean, not well cared for, troublemaking kids.  These kids are bullies.  It's interesting how they come to be in the Christmas Pageant at church.  It totally made me think about the Saviors birth and it also made me wonder and feel compassion for children that struggle.  I finished feeling uplifted after reading it.  I really LOVE this book.

The Christmas Journey by Donna VanLiere

This book would be great to have around if you know you are going to present the nativity story.  You could hold it in your hand as the narrarator and have the exact words of the scripture without scrambling to find where at in the scriptures the birth of Christ is mentioned in.

The first part was basically the scriptures about the nativity.  The second part is the story with some musings on what could have happened in the story.  The author read this originally at a Relief Society dinner. 

It does make you think.  It is an incredibly quick read.  It helped me remember some of my own personal experience of the birth process.  It was a good reminder that the nativity scene was real and not the sanitary picture that usually comes to our mind. 
This book went along with the First Presidency Christmas devotional this year.  I had many of the same thoughts through the book as I did when I listened to the devotional.  Here is a link:  2010 First Presidency Christmas Devotional

This year the 2010 First Presidency Christmas Devotional Spoke to my heart and soul.  As I listened I felt that I am often the Grinch.  I worry, worry, worry at Christmas time.  I found all the messages of the devotional to tell me what I needed to hear.

At our Stake Conference, Elder Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Seventy said something to the effect: "Some want to keep the Savior as a baby--powerless.  But He is NOT--he has power, he is real."  I have thought so much of his words long after we left stake conference. 

Both messages related well to this book.  This book brings me back to what Christmas is about.  It is a great way to make yourself think more of what it really could have been like in the manger.  I think it is a quick, thoughtful read.