An Amish Christmas

This book is filled with the details of how Christmas is celebrated in the Amish community. It traces the actions of a boy and his younger sister, during Christmas Eve, the two days of Christmas, and the following day. We meet the boy's family and learn about their Christmas customs. Interspersed in the text are Pennsylvania Dutch phrases, together with their meanings. The book both satisfies and develops curiosity about cultural differences. It shows children an example of how people do things differently, yet deep-down, many of the beliefs are the same. The book is suitable for older kids, with about 2000 words.

"An Amish Christmas" combines an informative text by Richard Ammon with illutrations by Pamela Patrick. The text is the first-person narration of an Amish boy who tells about his life and the way his family celebrates Christmas.The text captures many interesting details of Amish life. Particularly interesting is the presentation of the bilingual culture of this Amish community, whose members speak both Pennsylvania Dutch (which is actually a dialect of German) and English. Ammon includes a number of Pennsylvania Dutch words and phrases, with translations, in the text. Example: "Siss am schneea" ("It's snowing").Ammon's intelligent text is wonderfully complemented by Patrick's beautiful illustrations. Her style is realistic and colorful, and she superbly captures the facial expressions of the Amish children. There are many wonderful images and details: a horse's breath visible on a frosty December day, a colorful patterned quilt, a friendly snowball "fight," and more. Simply marvelous.

The beautiful illustrations in this book only enhance the simple story of how the Amish celebrate the Christmas holiday. Narrated by a young Amish boy, readers are quickly transported into the Amish world and the Christmas season. Great for readers of all ages.