Book Review: The Littlest Solstice Tree

December 4, 2025 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

I shared some ideas about celebrating the winter solstice with kids, but I wanted to share a cute book on the subject as well. The Littlest Solstice Tree by Lisa Varchol Perron and illustrated by Ahya Kim talks about the tradition of going into the woods to decorate a tree on the solstice rather than bringing a tree home to decorate in your house.

Young Sapling hopes it will be the chosen tree to be decorated, though Ancient reminds it the tall and lush trees are usually the ones selected.

But the power of hope, friendship and the wisdom of children gives this solstice celebration a different ending.

It’s a short, sweet (not ashamed to admit it made me tear up a little) story with lovely illustrations that include people, trees and forest animals. It can serve as a gentle introduction to solstice traditions and a way to contrast solstice and Christmas celebrations.

The author’s note at the end of the book tells a little bit about the winter solstice, which happens in the northern hemisphere around Dec. 21 each year and in the south on or around June 21. It notes that people have celebrated to solstice for nearly 12,000 years and that traditionally greenery might be brought into the house but trees weren’t typically cut down and brought home for Christmas until the 1500s. (Still a long tradition!)

Winter solstice is a great time to bundle up and go for a walk in nature and think and talk about the returning of the light and hopes for the new year to come.

This would be a nice book to add to a classroom collection of winter holiday themed books or to read at home if you already celebrate solstice or want to incorporate a celebration into your family traditions.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Beaming Books. Suggested retail price $18.99.

[Photo: Beaming Books]

Check out the kids craft section on Craftbits.com

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Celebrating Mexican Independence Day

Lots of Americans seem to think that May 5 is Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on Sept. 16.

May 5 is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French in 1862. Independence Day marks the beginning of their fight for independence from Spain in 1810. That was the day of what’s known as El Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, for when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells at his church in Dolores and declared that Mexico should be free from Spanish rule.

They would fight for their freedom until 1821 when they finally gained independence.

Fabulous Classroom has a little of the history and ideas for celebrating the holiday for all age groups. There’s also a link to a good video in that post about the real story of Mexican Independence Day.

Twinkl also has a good tops about the history and different activities, discussion ideas, crafts and foods that can be incorporated into lessons at school or used at home.

I also found a few pins that no longer link to a website but include good information on Mexican Independence Day, including some questions for students to answer based on the reading. You can find more printables and questions for kids from TX Homeschool Mama on Etsy (also available in Spanish).

You can find a lot more paid resources about Mexican Independence Day at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Mexican flag crafts are a fun option for celebrating Mexican Independence Day (though the current iteration of their flag has only been in use since 1968). Kids Activities Blog has a free Mexican flag printable and a few different ideas for decorating it including dot markers and torn tissue paper.

You can also find some great Mexican crafts at Red Ted Art. The post includes all sorts of Mexican inspired projects including Day of the Dead crafts, Frida Kahlo pinatas and upcycled musical instruments. I love the giant paper flowers they shared from Honestly WTF.

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