Books to Hang on the Tree

I was looking at these two books today, and it occurred to me that each of them is beautiful enough to be an ornament on the tree.  They might be a bit too heavy, especially if you have a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, but they are exquisite. If you want to give a book to someone that they will never tire of looking at, consider one (or both) of these:

Brother Sun, Sister Moon: Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures reimagined by Katherine Paterson and illustrated by Pamela Dalton (I really am tempted to buy another copy of this book, cut out the pages and hang them all over my house. Named one of the New York Times Best Illustrated Books of 2011, this is a re-telling of St. Francis’s hymn celebrating nature.) 

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beth Krommes (After looking at this book, you won’t look at the world quite the same way. Instead, you will begin to notice that there are spirals everywhere we look. Sidman and Krommes have created a book that urges the viewer to look closely at the world around them.)

Hanukkah and Christmas are perfect times to give books. They are easy to wrap, relatively inexpensive, and you can give someone an entire world to open.