Waiting Is Not Easy! & Silent Night

As we move into the relatively short seasons of Advent and Christmas, I often struggle to narrow down which books to recommend. Both seasons offer us gifts on how to spend our time and so many good books. As someone who is a minimalist in decorating, one of my favorite ways to decorate is to display these beautiful books around my home.

Two of the books that will be displayed this year are “Waiting Is Not Easy” by Mo Willems for Advent and for “Silent Night” illuminated by Lara Hawthorne for Christmas.

Advent began this past Sunday, the start of the Christian New Year. Advent prepares us for and leads us to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. It is a season of waiting, and wondering, and faithfully living in the in-between time: the time where we know that God walked among us as one of us and the hope of God’s full in-breaking once again in our world.

Waiting can become a challenge for all of us regardless of age. "Waiting Is Not Easy" is a book I often return to during Advent. From the popular Elephant and Piggie series, I easily relate to Gerald (the Elephant) when Gerald finds out that he must wait for his friend Piggie's surprise. In Gerald’s words “GROAN!”

Christmas is a twelve-day season centered on the sacred story of Jesus’ birth. Lara Hawthorne brings the Christmas story to life in her illustration of the beloved hymn “Silent Night.” As I introduce Jesus’ birth to my young child, I appreciate the how Hawthorne’s illustrations are engaging and fun to talk about, while telling the story in a straightforward way. As a bonus, she includes a history of the hymn in the back of the book.

“Waiting Is Not Easy!” by Mo Willems. Published by Hyperion Books for Children in 2014.

“Silent Night” by Lara Hawthorne. Published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books in 2018.