Storybook Advent Calendar

The Storybook Advent™ Calendar

By Lewis Brech

Illustrations by Laura D. Lewis

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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT

THE STORYBOOK ADVENT CALENDAR

And the Storybook Advent Carols Collections

MY GRAND DAUGHTER LOVED THE STORIES AND I CAN’T STOP LISTENING TO THE CAROLS

I just love the concept and the execution. My grand daughter loved the stories and I can't stop listening to the carols. You deserve every success.

Cliff Lague, Spain

WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE DO THIS BEFORE?

Storybook Advent Calendar makes me think ‘Why didn't someone do this before?’ It's uplifting, educational, and celebratory for adults and children. I especially like the entry for December 7, which explains the similarities and differences of Christianity, Judaism and Islam in a simple, profound and beautiful way.

Tina B. Tessina, PhD, psychotherapist and author of Money, Sex and Kids: Stop Fighting about the Three Things That Can Ruin Your Marriage (Adams Media 2008).

STUNNING, HEART-WARMING!

Stunning, heart-warming and thoroughly enjoyable! Thank you Lewis Brech for putting together this wonderful book!

Rachel Anne, Los Angeles, California, USA

I AM AWESTRUCK

I am awestruck with the book's warmth, its caring and loving sentiment, and totally enamored with the artwork!

Jeri Friedman, Los Lunas, New Mexico

HALLELUIAH!

Halleluiah! I finally found a Christmas music collection everyone enjoys. And it's portable. We're taking it caroling this year...which means we might actually be in key!

Betsy G., Everett, Washington, USA

SIMPLICITY AT ITS BEST

Just gone through the carols and they are great, simplicity at its best. All that is needed for a sing along to bring out the spirit of Christmas cheer. Well done to all involved.

Jeremy Allard, Lyricist, London, England

AWESOME!

I saved the music, lyrics and CD covers to my desktop. I think you did a really great job with this. They are awesome! I also read the Memo: from God. Wow – nicely done and very uplifting.

John Day, Los Angeles, California

THANK YOU FOR BRINGING ME BACK TO CHRISTMAS

"The Storybook Advent Calendar reminds adults and teaches children the roots of the holiday. Stories flow with a wonderful mix of new and old. From classics like The Matchstick Girl to timeless treasures such as The Three Trees, this collection will promote important conversations between parents and children, including the addition of an original story teaching how the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths relate to each other and have more in common than not.

Thank you for bringing me back to Christmas. It is possible to back away from the commercial tidal wave and rest in the peace that is the true meaning of the gift we have been given."

Aly Williams, Elementary School Teacher, Spokane, Washington, USA

The Storybook Advent™ Calendar

By Lewis Brech

Illustrations by Laura D. Lewis

Smashwords Edition

ISBN #0-9671042-4-6 Digital Edition

ISBN #978-1-4524-7837-1 Smashwords Edition

ISBN #145-15957-5-1 Paperback Edition, FULL COLOR

EAN: #9781451595758 Paperback Edition, FULL COLOR

ISBN # 1453640975, Black & White Paperback Edition

EAN: #9781453640975, Black & White Paperback Edition

Storybook Advent Carols Collection Volume One CD, UPC# 885444307652

Storybook Advent Carols Collection Volume Two CD, UPC# 885444307737

Storybook Advent is the trademark of Lewis Brech and Couples Company, Inc.

Lewis Brech

Storybook Advent

4320 S. Centinela Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA. 90066

United States of America

(818) 528-5944

CustomerService@StoryBookAdvent.com

http://www.StoryBookAdvent.com

Produced in the United States of America & the United Kingdom

First Edition Published November 2008

The Storybook Advent Carol Collections, Performed by Michael Brech, Available by MP3 download at StorybookAdvent.com or as a CD through most online retailers. Copyright © 2008-2010 Lewis Brech, Couples Company, Inc. DBA Storybook Advent™ All Rights Reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in part or in whole without the explicit consent of Lewis Brech.

THE STORYBOOK ADVENT™ FAMILY

Storybook Advent Calendar, Music, Ringtones and Songbook

What would Advent be without Christmas carols? Music has always been an essential element of Christianity and one of the most beloved aspects of the holiday season.

Caption: Carols Collection Songbooks include all the lyrics to the 40 songs featured on our three albums. The songbooks are available in full color and black and white paperback or as ebooks.

In addition to the Storybook Advent Calendar, we’ve created two Christmas music albums, several ringtones for your cell phone and a caroling songbook. Michael Brech's arrangement and performance captures the essence of each carol - whether it be joy or sadness, contemplation or open hallelujah. The arrangements are inventive and witty, from the trotting horse in Jingle Bells, the fife and drum of Patapan, the tears of the Coventry Carol to the mayhem of gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas. His warm, inimitable style is a blend of classical, baroque and soft jazz, not easy to imagine but, once heard, never forgotten.

ABOUT THE CAROLS COLLECTION

With musician, composer, lyricist and performer Michael Brech

There is something about Christmas Carols that evokes a completely different feeling and emotion as opposed to other forms of music. They stir up waves of nostalgia and happiness whilst instilling a sense of peace and goodwill that comes with the season. In studies, it has been found that the Mozart Effect makes children more intelligent. Perhaps we should play Christmas Carols every day to make the world a better place?

When it came to arranging the carols, I wanted to play them in such a way that they could be used in a variety of settings: to be able to sing to them, to be able to sit down and listen to them or to have them as soft background music. So, they couldn’t be too busy, couldn’t be too simple and couldn’t be too intrusive. There was also the imagery to bring across, as many carols paint pictures in the mind. My experience in writing for film and stage paid off in this sense.

I needed to capture the essence of the carols, the message and meaning in each one, as well as consider variations on the tunes. Some have many verses, and to play a verse the same over and over may work well for singing but not necessarily make good listening. Creating variety within involves moving the tune through the octaves, the crossing of hands and other little tricks of playing. I was asked if I had double-tracked the recordings. No, they are all played straight.

My second challenge in recording this series was making each sound contemporary whilst keeping true to its origin - no easy task given the carols span seventeen centuries and a dozen cultures. I chose to stay within the core boundary of each carol’s style, be it Gregorian, Elizabethan or Victorian. However, I also spiced each up a little through the combining of soft jazz and other styles of playing to bring them up-to-date.

Recording forty carols is an exciting challenge. Trying to name forty carols is a feat in itself. For Volume 1, my partner in creating Storybook Advent, Laura D. Lewis, an American, played a large part in putting together the list since I wasn’t that aware of the carols that are popular in America. In fact, I had never heard her favourite, Oh Holy Night, so she got a copy of Pavarotti singing it and said, Make the piano sound like that.

We were both surprised by how different American Carols are played and which are favoured in comparison to the English and European traditional carols that prompted the creation of Volume 2 concentrating on English and European carols. Discovering carols from France, such as Patapan and Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella, was a delight, as well as finding a very overlooked English carol, Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning. In my opinion, this carol is every bit as beautiful as Oh Holy Night on Volume 1.

For the most part, both albums stay true to their continents. However, we did swap one: Away in A Manger. Both versions were composed by Americans and though the Murray composition is more popular in America, it is becoming widespread in England and I felt that it

introduced something just a little different to the ‘English’ version of the Storybook Advent Carols. Not only that, but also the Kirkpatrick version fits so perfectly on Volume 1 and delivers a touching, emotional moment.

I am certain you will enjoy these carols as much as I have enjoyed arranging and performing them, and that they will bring a gentle warmth to your Christmas. --Michael Brech

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Storybook Advent Carols Collections

Caption: Volume One features American Christmas Classics

Storybook Advent Carols Collection Volume One features classic Christmas Carols played in the American musical tradition, (how they are played in the US) and include all-time favorite carols Jingle Bells, Greensleeves, Oh Holy Night and seventeen others. The second half of this book includes the lyrics and story behind each of these songs as well as the country it came from, the year it was created and the people behind the music.

Caption: Volume Two features British and European Christmas Classics

Storybook Advent Carols Collection Volume Two features classic Christmas Carols played in the British musical tradition, (how they are played in Europe). Carols featured on this album include The Holy and the Ivy, The First Noel, In Dulci Jublio, and British versions of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear and others. Together you’ll gain 40 classic carols, all performed as piano solos that meld beautifully with your current collection.

Caption: Volume Three includes Carols from both collections

Caption: STORYBOOK ADVENT RINGTONES

Festive ringtones available beginning in September 2010. These include: Oh Holy Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World, Jingle Bells,

Greensleeves and more.

The Storybook Advent Caroling Songbook is available as a free download with the purchase of the albums (information on the interior of the cover) or it can be purchased separately in paperback. It’s also available in digital formats for iPad, Android, Nook, Blackberry, Zune, Kindle, Sony reader and other digital readers online through StorybookAdvent.com and most online booksellers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

TESTIMONIALS

STORIES, POEMS & PRAYERS

December 1: What is God, Mommy? By Lewis Brech

December 2: The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost *

December 3: The Little Match Girl By Hans Christian Andersen *

December 4: Christmas Bells By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow *

December 5: The Cobbler’s Guest By Anne McCollum Boyles *

December 6: The Foolish Fir-tree by Henry Van Dyke *

December 7: Matthew, Mohammed & Micah Part I

Christmas, Eid & Hanukkah, By Lewis Brech

This story is best for children over 8-years old.

Alternate for December 7:

The First Journey with Reindeer Part I

By L Frank Baum *

December 8: Matthew, Mohammed & Micah: Part II

Alternate for December 8: The First Journey with Reindeer Part II

December 9: On the Morning of Christ's Nativity By John Milton *

December 10: Thomas & the Christmas Orange By Lewis Brech

December 11: The Christmas Spirit By Louisa May Alcott *

December 12: While Humble Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

By Nahum Tate & Nicholas Brady *

December 12: The Perfect Christmas Candy, by Lewis Brech

December 13: The Three Trees Part I