All it takes is a shake of the wrist to make the flakes fall on Santa’s sleigh, Elvis’s hips, or the Statue of Liberty’s torch--creating a miniature world in each snow globe. From the ornate to the political, from children’s characters to American cities and personalities, these colorful images will propel collectors back to their curio cabinets to watch a dazzling display and set the rest of us out on a lovely nostalgic trip. Each picture comes with a description that gives the history of the piece--going back to the time when snow globes weren’t just tourist souvenirs but depictions of the most romantic sites on earth. Find out where they were first created, which companies specialized in making them, and why they’re so irresistible.

2019 Top 20 Goodreads Choice Awards As the worst snow storm of the year rolls in, one family hunkers down together in a cozy blanket fort for the night. A little girl makes a wish on a snow globe and, in the morning, the sun rises on a winter wonderland--beckoning all outside. And what if, on this snow-filled day, families shake their busy lives and everyone goes out to play? A lyrical holiday story about wishes and community and snow--lots and lots of snow.

Oh, when will it snow again? wonders the little family who lives in the snow globe. They long for a swirling snowstorm—if only someone in the big family would pick up the snow globe and give it a great big shake. Baby would love to. She alone notices the little family. She gazes longingly at their snowy little world, but the snow globe is up way too high for her to reach. Then, when a real snowstorm sends the big children outside sledding in the moonlight, Baby finds herself alone in the parlor. . . . Will the snow globe family at last get a chance to go sledding too? As readers follow the parallel adventures of both families, big and little, they will take special pleasure in the miniature world of the snow globe, where the skating pond is the size of a shiny quarter and a snowman is no bigger than a sugar cube.

Includes plastic insert with equivalent measurements and metric conversions.

In The Ellis Island Snow Globe, Erica Rand, author of the smart and entertaining book Barbie’s Queer Accessories, takes readers on an unconventional tour of Ellis Island, the migration station turned heritage museum, and its neighbor, the Statue of Liberty. By pausing to reflect on what is and is not on display at these two iconic national monuments, Rand focuses attention on whose heritage is honored and whose obscured. She also reveals the shifting connections between sex, money, material products, and ideas of the nation in everything from the ostensible father-mother-child configuration on an Ellis Island golf ball purchased at the gift shop to the multi-million dollar July 4, 1986 Liberty Weekend extravaganza celebrating the Statue’s centennial just days after the Supreme Court’s un-Libertylike decision upholding the antisodomy laws challenged in Bowers v. Hardwick. Rand notes that portrayals of the Statue of Liberty as a beacon for immigrants tend to suppress the Statue’s connections to people brought to this country by force. She examines what happened to migrants at Ellis Island whose bodies did not match the gender suggested by the clothing they wore. In light of contemporary ideas about safety and security, she examines the “Decide an Immigrant’s Fate” program, which has visitors to Ellis Island act as a 1910 board of inspectors hearing the appeal of an immigrant about to be excluded from the country. Rand is a witty, insightful, and open-minded tour guide, able to synthesize numerous diverse ideas—about tourism, immigration history, sexuality, race, ethnicity, commodity culture, and global capitalism—and to candidly convey her delight in her Ellis Island snow globe. And pen. And lighter. And back scratcher. And golf ball. And glittery pink key chain.

Craft to your heart’s content without making a trip to a specialty store. Once you’ve glimpsed the inspired creations in Paper Goods Projects, you’ll never look at your pantry shelves or recycling bins the same way. Here are 60 fun and simple crafts that transform everyday items: paper towel tubes turn into safari animals, coffee filters dyed bright colors bloom into water lilies, doilies make a charming crown, and cereal boxes become the building blocks of a mini city. Paper Goods Projects has crafts for birthday party favors and decorations, cake toppers, greeting cards, children’s toys, and so much more. Tap your creativity like never before to create fun, beautiful objects out of the simplest materials.

If we really want Peace and Harmony on the earth, let's take our U. S. celebration of Thanksgiving and go global with it, inviting all God's children to join us on one day a year giving thanks for all the good things we already have on Earth, and then feast and make merry with Peace and Harmony in our hearts and souls.