The Christmas Gift by R. William Bennett

From the back of the book: What if the person you needed to apologize to the most was the one that deserved it the least?  In a world with diminishing civility, increasing rancor and moral relativism, The Christmas Gift is a simple story about our relationships and the values that make them precious.  Told through the experiences of Scott and Ben, two sixth grade boys, The Christmas Gift gently illustrates the power of apology, forgiveness and understanding, and the lasting impact we can have when we reach through the mists of hurt and mistrust to offer a hand of kindness to another.

Short Review: It's great! I loved it! I recommend it!

Longer Story: I was sitting around, wondering what Christmas book I should read this year.  (Each year I try to read two Christmas novels.)  I had one picked out: Finding Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn-- a re-read that I loved.  Then lo and behold, I got an email asking if I'd like a copy of The Christmas Gift to review.  What?  Of course I did!  Woo-hoo!

It's a short novel.  Fourteen short chapters with lots of white space in between them.  I could have read it in a day--which is saying a lot for me because as I've said before, I'm a slow reader.

It is an engaging novel.  I see its appeal for elementary school students (as a read-aloud) up to adults.  I could easily read this aloud to my boys in the near future. I predict reading a chapter each night for a couple weeks in early December.  I appreciate that it re-enforces character traits that I'm teaching at home: forgiveness and kindness.  Other things I liked about the book: a loving dad who listened to his son and offered sound advice, and a son who did the right thing even when it was hard.

P.S. You may cry.  It's touching like that.  : )

Heather