NOVEMBER MONTHLY ROUNDUP

From Mimi’s notepad 11.30.2025

Gratitude Month

As November winds to a close, we send a heartfelt THANK YOU to all the wonderful people we’ve met this year who have helped this dream come to life. People like YOU!

One year ago, we hadn’t yet hosted a single book show! We were partnered with one retailer and had just completed our launch. We now have had dozens of book shows and are on shelves in 8 retail shops.

These last 12 months have been remarkably fruitful for us. We thank you for being a part of this journey.

This last day of November also officially marks the start of the Christmas season. Advent — or adventus if you know Latin — means “to come” such as “coming soon” or “arriving soon.” And Christmas really will be here before we know it. We hope you get to slow down and enjoy the beauty of this special season.

At one of our recent book shows, a customer shared her idea for Little Jesus and the Bethlehem Birthday.

This story takes place at the end of the day as Little Jesus is getting ready for bed. He asks Imma for a bedtime story. Imma shares the story of the night He was born just as any mommy might share with her Littles.

We’ve heard it said many times — this is the best version of the Nativity story ever. Hands down.

A Tulsa event-goer shared her idea of gifting hardcover Bethlehem Birthday books to expecting mommies and friends with newborns and small children to use as a Christmas story tradition. Parents can trace their children’s hands and add the date. In this shopper’s mind, the book will be a keepsake heirloom brought out each Christmas season to read again and update the hand tracing.

We love this idea for a new tradition!

Another shopper said that she is giving books to families to read with Littles acting out the scenes on Christmas eve. My in-laws did this and always included Bible readings and birthday cake for Jesus during our family’s Christmas Eve activities. That’s another lovely spin on the tradition of reading the Nativity story.

Let us know how your family uses this book for the holiday.

And don’t forget, you can order directly from us and we’ll inscribe it with a personalized message. Special bundle pricing is available through December 10. So order now! (Details at the end!)

As for the news from November…

Craft Fair in Mustang OK

We hosted a booth November 8 at the annual craft fair sponsored by the Altar Society at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. It started out very very chilly and warmed up a bit by noon. And then the winds blew in. You can bet we didn’t let it slow us down a bit!

The hot item at this event was Little Jesus and the Bethlehem Birthday. It was a Christmas market, after all. And the Wolfie keychains were also widely popular.

Library time in Edmond OK

November 14 we spent the afternoon at Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School with Littles in kindergarten, first and second grades during their Friday library times. Two of the three groups read Little Jesus and the Lonely Puppy in advance and were eager to talk about Little Jesus. The kindergarteners were excited as well to join the adventure and talk about what life for Little Jesus may have been like.

We are beyond appreciative to those who open doors to us. In this case, Librarian Nan McCabe was invaluable! Thank you, Miss Nan!

Story time in Edmond OK

The whole LJ crew was on hand November 22 at Best of Books to celebrate the launch of The Little Jesus Chronicles with a book reading at Best of Books in Edmond. That’s right! Olivia, Viviana, and I with our families all in one place!

We are proud of our family owned and operated small business. We do everything except the illustrations and the translations. Website? Us. Online store? Us. Marketing? Us. You get the picture. We have learned tons this past year and are working hard to bring the girls’ dream to life. It’s a labor of love and we wouldn’t trade this for anything!

That brings me to this little note that was in one of my deliveries this week. I’ll just add the pic and let you do your own pondering.

And CONGRATULATIONS to Lilah!

Lilah Khan joined our newsletter group during this event at Best of Books. Her name was drawn as winner in our drawing exclusively for newsletter subscribers.

What did she win? A kid’s t-shirt with The Little Jesus Chronicles moniker on front and back. Lilah will also receive a gifted copy of our next book Little Jesus and the Fishing Adventure as soon as it rolls off the press in late January.

Pop-Up in Fort Smith AR

When we realized the weather was going to be icky the weekend after Thanksgiving, we reached out to The Shops at Brick City, a local shop of boutiques, to see if we could set up our booth in their indoor patio area on Small Business Saturday (November 29). And they said yes!

Loads of our family members and friends showed up at this opportunity to see our LJC booth. It’s quite the set-up! Check out this video.

Pipeline Update

Arriving December 12: Little Jesus and Friends’ Activity Book!

If you are in the market for a small bundle, be on the lookout!

Then on December 12, order Wiggly Tooth, Marketplace Thief, and Muddy Masterpiece — along with this companion activity book (#2).

Order from us at our online store! Shipping rates apply but we offer free pickup/delivery in some locations. Email us for details.

Book 7: Little Jesus and the Fishing Adventure is on schedule for release in early 2026. It also brings our total storybook count to 7 with 3 more planned.

As we’ve said, our books are historical fiction. And we’ve learned so much about the region in that era! Did you know that the fish most commonly caught in waterways near Nazareth then and now are tilapia and sardines? Nope, we didn’t know that either.

There’s no telling what you’ll learn. That’s right. Even Bigs (or grown-ups if you prefer that term) enjoy our stories!

On The Road Again!

We have three events planned in December (so far!).

December 5 we will be in Fort Smith to share breakfast with the Kiwanis. This event will be a bit different since Kiwanis is an international organization whose mission is to empower communities to make lasting differences in the lives of children. We will be talking about the joint partnership across our family’s generations to help Viviana and Olivia with this book adventure.

Saturday, December 6, we will host a booth at Christkindl Market at St. Boniface Catholic Church.

Saturday, December 13, will will host a book at the Amadus Holiday Market at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

Check out our scheduled events in the Events tab on our website.

If you know of a faith-focused event that might be suitable to our mission, be sure to send us details. We are currently looking for opportunities January - April, 2026.

Cyber Monday!

If you are shopping tomorrow for Cyber Monday, consider grabbing the bundles I mentioned in the opener above. Here is a video of Jill with more info.

We appreciate all of you, our Little Jesus fans! Share the news and share this newsletter!