Constance Van Hoven

I read my Christmas books every year and probably bought this the year it came out. The Illustrator is Mike Wohnoutka. It covers things about Minnesota such as loons, Norway pine, hockey, the pipe stones of Pipestone National Monument, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, hotdishes, walleyes, swans, Holsteins, bears, sled dogs, spooky sailors, and ice sculptures.

It also lists famous Minnesotans (Bob Dylan, Charles, Lindbergh, Ann Bancroft, Charles Schultz, Roy Wilkins, etc.

The author is a resident of St. Paul. The illustrator grew up in Spicer, Minnesota (7 miles from my house).… (plus d'informations)

This book sounds like the book is a silly parody. After all, what do you think of when you think of Minnesota? Well, perhaps snow. What else? The mind of this Texan draws a blank. Using a twelve days of Christmas format, the author reveals there is much more to Minnesota than just snow. Like Norway pines. And hockey sticks. And lumberjacks. And walleyes. Lots more. Just so you know.The pictures are bright and colorful. The text is written in the format of letters, making it very kid-friendly.I can see that this is a book I’d love. If I lived in Minnesota.A sample:“Hey, Mom and Dad,We went up north to the lake! That’s what Minnesotans say when they head out to one of the more than 10,000 lakes in the state. The most common lake names? Mud and Long. There are hundreds of those. There are lots of Twin Lakes, too, but only one Lake Hannah and two Lake Sarahs….”… (plus d'informations)