Thinking that the spirit of Christmas has been lost, Santa Bear disappears, until the Berenstain Bears show him that it still exists.

From the manger of Jesus Christ to the 21st century, this encyclopedia explores more than 2,000 years of Christmas past and present through 966 entries packed with a wide variety of historical and pop-culture subjects. Entries detail customs and traditions from around the world as well as classic Christmas movies, TV series/specials and animated cartoons. Arranged alphabetically by entry name, the book includes the historical background of popular sacred and secular songs as well as accounts of beloved literary works with Christmas themes from such noted authors as Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Hans Christian Andersen, Pearl Buck, Henry Van Dyke and others. All things Christmas are available here in one comprehensive volume.

In the late 1950s, Ted Geisel took on the challenge of creating a book using only 250 unique first-grade words, something that aspiring readers would have both the ability and the desire to read. The result was an unlikely children’s classic, The Cat in the Hat. But Geisel didn’t stop there. Using The Cat in the Hat as a template, he teamed with Helen Geisel and Phyllis Cerf to create Beginner Books, a whole new category of readers that combined research-based literacy practices with the logical insanity of Dr. Seuss. The books were an enormous success, giving the world such authors and illustrators as P. D. Eastman, Roy McKie, and Stan and Jan Berenstain, and beloved bestsellers such as Are You My Mother?; Go, Dog. Go!; Put Me in the Zoo; and Green Eggs and Ham. The story of Beginner Books—and Ted Geisel’s role as “president, policymaker, and editor” of the line for thirty years—has been told briefly in various biographies of Dr. Seuss, but I Can Read It All by Myself: The Beginner Books Story presents it in full detail for the first time. Drawn from archival research and dozens of brand-new interviews, I Can Read It All by Myself explores the origins, philosophies, and operations of Beginner Books from The Cat in the Hat in 1957 to 2019’s A Skunk in My Bunk, and reveals the often-fascinating lives of the writers and illustrators who created them.

The Berenstains deliver a very special Christmas gift for their millions of fans in this holiday story in which Mama Bear discovers that Santa may cancel Christmas because of everyone's bad behavior. Full color.

Since the early 20th century, animated Christmas cartoons have brightened the holiday season around the world--first in theaters, then on television. From devotional portrayals of the Nativity to Santa battling villains and monsters, this encyclopedia catalogs more than 1,800 international Christmas-themed cartoons and others with year-end themes of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the New Year. Explore beloved television specials such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, theatrical shorts such as Santa's Workshop, holiday episodes from animated television series like American Dad! and The Simpsons, feature films like The Nutcracker Prince and obscure productions such as The Insects' Christmas, along with numerous adaptations and parodies of such classics as A Christmas Carol and Twas the Night before Christmas.

Finding the perfect Christmas tree is very important for Papa Bear and the cubs. But while hunting for that one special tree, the family meets up with other animals that live in them. Papa, Brother, and Sister realize that the trees are perfect homes for the animals and show kindness and love for their fellow Bear Country friends by not cutting them down. The animals from the forest work together to thank the Bear Family in a wonderful and unique way.

Did you know that Iraqi Christians celebrate Christmas Eve with a bonfire of thorns? That farmers in the Netherlands practice Midwinter Horn Blowing throughout the Advent season? That people in Caracas, Venezuela, roller-skate to midnight mass on Christmas Eve? Find these fascinating facts and hundreds more in this new edition of William Crump's acclaimed Christmas Encyclopedia. From Charles Dickens to Robert Frost, from Mele Kalikimaka to Messiah, and from Charlie Brown to the Waltons, all our favorite Christmas traditions--modern and vintage--are covered here. Crump's second edition of this comprehensive reference work adds 120 new entries, bringing the total number of Christmas-related topics to more than 480. Subjects include individual carols and songs, Christmas episodes of television series, literary figures, and popular Christmas symbols, as well as the origins of some of our most celebrated Christmas traditions. Unique to this work is its emphasis on Christmas as depicted in the popular media, with entries covering literary works, motion pictures and television specials expressing holiday themes.