Bea and Jules, all together:

Bea and Jules have had a busy month! 

Thank you for following their advent journey, and for cheering them (and me!) along the way. 

Long live the dreamers, 

the scissor-wielders, 

the glitter-lovers, 

outdoor gatherers, sweets-bringers, 
light-finders, 

the merry makers! 

Cheers to you all!

Bea and Jules, Day 25!

Happy Advent!

Happy Christmas!

-

from Jules and Charlie

and Bea -

and me. 

Bea and Jules, Day 24:

Bea and Jules have been bringing home a little bit of Christmas every day. 

But will it work? 

Bea put light jars at every window so her mom could see them on her way home. She hung up all the stick elves.  And there was the music concert. And clove oranges! And cookies!

But what if it’s not enough?

But it turns out, it is.

“YOU are the present, Bea! Every time I come home, it’s Christmas. All your making - every thing you touch, all the merry magic - that just adds twinkle. But I already have my Christmas right here.”

Books!

 

The Legend of the Poinsettia - Tomie dePaola

The Wish Tree - Kyo McClear, Chris Turnham

Bear's First Christmas - Robert Kinerk, Jim La Marche

How Six Found Christmas - Trina Schart Hyman

Christmas Tapestry - Patricia Polacco

Who is Coming to Our House? - Joseph Slate, Ashley Wolff

The Little Drummer Boy - Ezra Jack Keats

The Nativity - ill. by Julie Vivas

Bea and Jules - Day 23

Candles!

Jules gets to sit and be quiet for a long time. 

So she makes a poem.

Bea and Jules, Day 19:

Jules has the best, best news!

Gran is starting to feel better! 

Gran says that after last night's music, 

she almost feels as spry as a snap pea and fit as a fiddle.
Almost!

Today she is sharing pie secrets,
and Jules is all ears.

How is that for a little bit of Christmas magic?

Bea and Jules, Day 12

DAY 12: Secrets. 

Jules and Bea are Secret Angels this year.

They swapped names. 

Guess who they have? 

Yep. 

They send secret notes every day. 

“Have a good day!
- From, your Secret Angel”

Also they send things like…

Glitter. (Thanks, Jules.) 

A pretty leaf. 

A rock from the parking lot.

A bottle cap. 

A singing train.  (Sorry, Charlie!!)
More glitter!

Books!

    

The Jolly Christmas Postman - Janey & Allan Ahlberg

The Dove's Letter - Keith Baker

A Letter to Amy - Ezra Jack Keats

Fanny & Annabelle - Holly Hobbie

Bea and Jules, Day 9

Day 9: Snow!

Snow!

Bea and Jules finally got their wish!

Jules is outside, celebrating in it.  

Bea is curled up by the window, watching.

What are you celebrating today?

What's your favorite thing to do when it snows? 

Bea and Jules - Day 8

Bea still really wants it to snow.  

Jules, too!

They gather up glue and clean jars

and a few dollhouse toys. 

Bea glues toys inside each jar.

She makes Jules wait while they dry. 

  

Jules grabs the glitter!

Shake, shake, shake!

Now, close the lid.... Shake again

Snow globe!

Bea and Jules, Day 7 - Night Tree

Day 7: Night Tree.

Well! 

Jules may have planned for the animals to wake up and talk on Christmas 
Eve, but the animals didn’t know they were supposed to wait.  

Maybe they already had something to talk about.

          “Psst! Spread the word! Feast at the Night Tree!”

The treats Jules and Charlie made are already gone. 

Nibbled up. 

Vanished.

            “At least they had a party!” Jules sighs.  

That’s okay. There is still plenty to do to bring Christmas to everyone else. 

Books ! 

THE FRIENDLY BEASTS - Tomie DePaola
THE NIGHT TREE - Eve Bunting
OWL MOON - Jane Yolen, John Schoenherr

Bea and Jules, Day 6

Day 6: 

Gifts for the birds. And beasts.

According to legend, animals have the power to speak to humans for one mysterious hour every Christmas Eve. 

Jules wants to be ready! 

She and Charlie make treats for the birds and all the other animals - peanut butter-birdseed-pinecones, birdseed cakes, and strings threaded with berries - and hang them up on an outside tree.

Now, she and Charlie have to wait until Christmas Eve to find out! 

Will the animals come?

What will they say?

Bea and Jules, Day 5

Day 5: Tree hunt

Gran had a fake tree last year, but Jules is pretty sure a fresh tree will be just what Gran needs to feel better. 

Uncle Moony is not convinced, but Jules is good at arguing. 

They go to a tree farm thirty minutes away. 

What do you think:
Fake or fresh trees? 

Day 5 & 1/2:

On the way home, Jules sees a cloud of birds.
Jules wonders what kinds of holidays birds celebrate. Uncle Moony tells her this bird cloud is made up of starlings, and a group of them is called a murmuration, so Jules makes up a murmuring sort of poem. 

Maybe birds don't have holidays.
Maybe they are always celebrating. 

Jules is pretty sure she would be, if she could fly.

And what do you think Jules’ gran did when they came in with the tree?  

She almost dropped her coffee cup. 

But Jules’ gran is used to the idea now,
and she says it will be perfect. “Perfectly Jules.”

Books!

No Two Alike - Keith Baker

Birds of Bethlehem - Tomie DePaola

Bea and Jules, Day 4

Day 4: Snowflakes

Bea is impatient for snow. She really, really wants it to snow. 

So, she gets out paper and scissors. 

Fold. Fold. Fold. Fold. 

She folds her paper into a nice, pizza triangle. 

Snip. 

Paper wedges drift to the floor. 

almost like snow.
The hardest part is knowing when to stop cutting.
Maybe Bea's snowflakes will give the sky a hint!

Snow Books!

The Snow Blew Inn - Dian Curtis Regan, Doug Cushman
Winter Bees, and Other Poems of the Cold - Joyce Sidman, Rick Allen
Over and Under the Snow - Kate Messner

Bea and Jules, Day 3

Day 3:

Charlie wants to write a letter to Santa. Jules is happy to help. 

“Dear Santa, Happy December! Charlie wants ANOTHER train! This is okay with me, but pleeeese not one that SINGS!!! His old one that sings is hiding under my bed because it was ANNOYING! Also, I  think Charlie wants extra candy to give to his sister (me). And if you can make Gran feel better, we will even be okay without the candy. 

Love, Charlie (and Jules!!)”

Books!

The Jolly Christmas Postman, Janet & Allan Ahlberg 

The Dove's Letter, by Keith Baker

I can't wait to read "How Winston Delivered Christmas," by Alex T. Smith.

Bea and Jules, Day 2

Day 2:

Day 2: 

Today, Bea and Jules set up their workshops - the safest place to make things and keep them secret. 

What does one need in a workshop? 

Bea can give you a list. 

Her workshop has a calendar, pencils, envelopes, glue, tape, scissors, and everything else that’s on her list. 

Jules doesn't have a list, but her workshop is full. 

Full of glitter, full of paper, full of crayons, old holiday cards, tape, glue, paint, and more glitter.
Jules also stocks her workshop with: stacks of books, mittens, a jingle bell, a plastic spoon, mints from her gran’s purse, and three puzzle pieces that she found in her pocket. And a sock bookmark.

Or maybe that’s just a lost sock.

What do your elves keep in their workshops?

Books!

Toot & Puddle, Let it Snow, by Holly Hobbie

Christmas With the Mousekins, by Maggie Smith

The Elves & the Shoemaker, by Jim LaMarche

What are your favorite cozy, crafty, holiday picture books?

Bea and Jules, Day 1

Day 1:

Bea loves lists. 

On today's list: get the advent calendars from the Christmas box in the garage. 

The box bursts open with candles, ornaments, popsicle stick snowflakes, and the smell of winter. At the very bottom are the calendars. Each calendar has tiny doors that peek open with a note or a picture for each day until Christmas. Bea's family uses them year after year until the doors are worn and torn and taped back together. 

Today is the first day, so Bea opens the Day 1 door in all the calendars. 

What do you think she will find?

Merry Makers

Meet Bea and Jules. 

They are after-hours friends

who popped up in my night sketches. 

They really want to make Christmas special this year, 

but Bea's mom has a new job

and Jules' gran had surgery, 

so it's up to the kids to get the snowball rolling.

I'm going to follow them around for a few weeks

on a sort of illustrated journey

as they try to bring home 

a little bit of Christmas 

every day until it arrives. 

In other news, I am working devotedly on final sketches for THE STARKEEPER,
my picture book with Random House books
which comes out in 2020.
Here's a peek at my sketch process:

Oops. 

That's not progress. 

That's my new office assistant, Luna, testing paintbrushes.

There we go.
I've been building a village with blocks so I can create my imaginary village
in the book.

I want to know the bones of my world so that they hold together when I change my point of view.
I will share more about the blocks and village and the sketches in awhile.

Meanwhile, I think Bea and Jules will be stopping in again soon
with more and merrier.

Merry! Merry!