As we headed out the door for our drive to my in-laws' house for Thanksgiving, I scanned my shelves for a quick, pleasant read. At first, I was tempted to bring Maigret's Christmas, a collection of short stories in the mystery genre (a book I won in a library contest). However, I knew I wanted an absorbing read (in case I needed to block out the noise from my boys in the van), so I slid it back onto the shelf and grabbed another little Christmas book which I had picked up at the thrift store. The book was appealing because of the glossy photo on the front cover. It looks like a coffee table book: one I would proudly display ... if only I had a coffee table.
This book, The Christmas Child, by Max Lucado, is apparently a repackaged version of an earlier story called "The Christmas Cross." Apparently, it was such a big hit that it was turned into a movie (which I noticed is available at http://www.christianbook.com/ for only $5.99). The book I purchased bears photos from the movie and the text was large enough for me to read without reading glasses (fortunate, since I haven't managed to pick up a pair yet). It would make a lovely gift book.
Jack is a reporter from Chicago whose marriage is faltering. His wife requests some space, so he adds extra time onto a trip for work and heads to a small town in Texas to visit a church there. His father had received a black and white photo of the church in the mail mysteriously and Jack intends to investigate. What he finds is an inspiring tale of loss and redemption (you know me, I'm a sucker for redemption stories!). This was a beautiful, easy read. I might just have to rent the movie, if my husband and I can finagle a date night sometime this month. I'm guessing the book was a condensed version of the movie. I could use a good heart-warming tale these days!
Of course, if you are looking for quick, heart-warming Christmas tales, I must also recommend Karen Kingsbury's Red Gloves books. Each of these books follows a Christmas theme and have only 12 short chapters. At her site, they even recommend reading one chapter aloud over the 12 days of Christmas (an interesting idea I might just attempt in a few years when the little ones would be old enough to stick with the story). I've only read two of the four books, but my favorite so far is Gideon's Gift.
When I read Gideon's Gift, I was working at ES's elementary school and would often read during my 15 minute breaks. I sat in the school library crying as I read this book on the couch and the librarian just had to know what I was reading. I hope she went on to read the book, too. Leave a comment if have any other quick, inspiring Christmas reads to recommend.
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