Christmas Trees

April 1, 2025

Gr 1-3-This series explores the symbols associated with some of America's most well-known holidays, featuring large, vibrant photos with accompanying information in text boxes. However, the choice of yellow font for vocabulary words-sometimes placed against blue or green backgrounds-may create accessibility challenges for some readers. While the series provides brief overviews of each holiday and its symbols, the discussion often lacks depth. For instance, Stevens states that Christmas trees originated in Germany as reminders of summer during winter, oversimplifying a tradition with deeper pagan roots and symbolic meaning. Similarly, the discussion of Easter references the goddess Eastre but uses the less common spelling "Eastre" instead of " ostre" and incorrectly claims that no one believes in her today-an assertion modern pagans would dispute. Though visually appealing, the series' omissions and accessibility concerns weaken its impact. VERDICT Skip this one.

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