The Christmas Chronicles: The Legend of Santa Claus

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The Christmas Chronicles: The Legend of Santa Claus

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 271 ratings · 126 reviews

In this new holiday classic, Tim Slover crafts a marvelous, magical novel about how Santa Claus became the man he is today. After reading The Christmas Chronicles, you’ll believe all over again in the magic of the season.

Snow is falling, and the clock ticks toward midnight on Christmas Eve while countless children, too excited to sleep, anticipate the arrival of Santa Cla...more

Hardcover, 176 pages

Published November 2nd 2010 by Bantam

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Nov 09, 2010 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

"The Christmas Chronicles" is a wonderful story about how Santa Claus became the man he is today. After reading The Christmas Chronicles, I am so excited for the holiday season to arrive.

Slover's story begins in 1343, when tan orphan named Klaus is adopted by a craftsmen’s guild. The boy will grow to become a master woodworker with a gift for making toys. This story will become a Christmas classic!

I loved this book. It is the most delightful Christmas book I have read and I read at least one eac...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Marcie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I hope that I will have a grandchild someday, and we will read this book together every Christmas. It will take all December -- we'll have to vary the accompanying treats (a peppermint stick, hot cocoa, or warm sugar cookies). We'll cuddle as I read aloud how it all began, how it developed with the help of Magic, how life's battle between Hope and Despair is constant. (And this is the true meaning behind Christmas: Hope.) And this child will take the presents tucked inside the story (sweet nugge...more I hope that I will have a grandchild someday, and we will read this book together every Christmas. It will take all December -- we'll have to vary the accompanying treats (a peppermint stick, hot cocoa, or warm sugar cookies). We'll cuddle as I read aloud how it all began, how it developed with the help of Magic, how life's battle between Hope and Despair is constant. (And this is the true meaning behind Christmas: Hope.) And this child will take the presents tucked inside the story (sweet nuggets of life wisdom) as a happy memory into adulthood.

What a gift that keeps on giving.

When I first began reading this, I was annoyed by the "boring, dorky, old grandpa" tone. But the prologue ends, and the delightful story begins. The ancient "Green Book" inside the slick, modern book begins, with a charming design shift: fonts, borders, green inks, a light green background to delineate the other book inside the book. Clever.

And it is full of delights:

"The first part of the book, however, was of a different character. It appeared to be a story or history. There were engravings in this section: a boy making a wooden chair, a merry girl sewing a coat, a bearded man with his arm around the neck of a reindeer, a grave council sitting around a large table.

I flipped back to what was clearly the title page and saw what I had missed before: an engraving of a thumbprint in the lower right-hand corner.

Now it occurred to me that given the events of the day, if I pressed my thumb onto that print, something extraordinary was likely to happen. I would be plunged deeper into an adventure that was already threatening to overturn my cherished notions of reality."

"Well, you have a choice, of course," Nicholas said. "If you did not, what you do would have no value." (The best explanation of why God gave us Free Will that I have ever read...)

"Well. There was never harm in trying. In fact, come to think of it, Klaus thought, trying was itself a kind of Magic."

"Helping is Magic, he thought; and Magic is really just a kind of helping."

"And now we come to the heart of the matter and to the reason for The Green Book. Do not imagine this copy arrived in your hands by chance. It was made for you."

A huge, perfect metaphor for religion...faith, whatever you want to call it, and the simple illustration of why we need it, for life is hard and hopeless without it.(less)

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Jan 02, 2011 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars

A few weeks before Christmas, I happened to hear a few minutes of this book on Classical 89 (KBYU). I was so impressed and intrigued that I bought it - the radio drama version.

We listened to it on the way to Wyoming on Christmas day. Our car turned out to be the perfect setting to hear about Christmas magic in the Black Forest. We drove on snow-packed roads through the night, with no other cars in sight, past ice-frosted trees and deep mounds of snow. The occasional white rabbit that darted out...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: christmas, fiction-and-humor

What a delightful little tale of the “true” story of Saint Nicholas and the origins of Christmas! It surely put me in the proper frame of mind for the season, and occasionally gave me moments of pondering truths expressed in the story. For example, consider the following:

1. “Happiness is the result when the truth is spoken in love.” Reminds me of One who spoke another truth – “and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

2. “Hundreds of years of simple gifts freely...more

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Nov 20, 2010 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: inspiratonal-christmas-contemporary

THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES (THE LEGEND OF SANTA CLAUS) by Tim Slover is an inspirational Christmas contemporary fiction. It is told as a narrative, is well written with depth and details.This is this author's debut novel. It has legend, myth,destiny,envy,magic, committment, faith, adventature,good vs evil, a love story and is destined to be a holiday favorite. It is inspiring and heartwarming.It starts with the finding of THE GREEN BOOK, which is apparently the biography or a history of Santa Clau...more

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Sep 22, 2010 Eden rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, first-reads, favorites

Baby Klaus was orphaned when both of his parents died of the Black Death. But, a craftsmen's guild took him in. Klaus as he grew up, watched and learned from these woodworkers and Klaus himself became a master woodworker.
Klaus has a great laugh and is a very talented toy maker. Klaus began making toys for all the children in his village for each Christmas and each year, the list of children who got toys grew.
Klaus meets Anna - who has a sleigh and a reindeer named Dasher. Klaus and Anna marry....more

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Nov 29, 2012 Tarissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

"The Christmas Chronicles" is the story of Santa Claus... and how he came to actually be Santa Claus. It's told in the most magical of ways, which really draws the reader in. I have to say, I did quite enjoy the first part of the book. It flew by! But, I think, when it got closer to the end, there were a couple things that left me unsettled. One was the untimely death of a dear character! Alas, I won't mourn over that. The thing that really had me scratching my head was that Klaus's enemy "Rolf...more

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Dec 19, 2010 Jesse Booth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

Tim Slover came to my work for a book signing. My sister had previously added this book to her to-read list so when I heard the title announced over the PA, I had to go and check it out. After talking with Tim a little, I decided to purchase the book. He signed the front page, thanking me for telling him about "Goodreads." Hopefully he'll get on and become a goodreads author. He was a very nice guy. He impressed upon me that this tale was indeed the true story of Santa Claus.

All in all it was a...more

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Dec 10, 2010 Inspired Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

Please visit my blog for a book giveaway (ends 12/24/10)

http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot....
If you are looking for a book that tells you the "truth" about Santa Claus this is it. How does Santa really deliver all the gifts on Christmas Eve? How did Santa & Mrs. Claus meet? Can reindeer really fly? Does Rudolph's nose really glow? All these and many more questions are answered in this sure to be holiday classic. Author Tim Slover has woven a wonderful Christmas tale that once and for all...more

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Sep 25, 2010 Heather L rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone,

Recommended to Heather L by: This was a FirstReads book.

Shelves: christmas, first-reads, 2010

This evening after dinner I dug out a Christmas CD (Andrea Bocelli's "My Christmas") and curled up with this book and a cup of mint hot chocolate -- little did I know how appropriate that choice in flavors would be, as the healing and restorative powers of peppermint are woven throughout.

What an amazing story! I have only just finished this book, and can see reading it many times in the years to come. Heck, probably before the year is out! This is an enchanting story, sure to rekindle the Chris...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Tessa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-book

My family has listened to this book two seasons in a row and now its tradition. In the beginning, the writing is weird - stilted, like it was written by someone besides the author of the rest of the story. BUT, the rest of the story is original and well told; the dramatization is great. We believe in Santa around here and talk about how he was a real person whose influence is still felt and whose spirit can inspire us to do lovely things for each other this time of year. When the kids ask a ques...more

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Nov 23, 2012 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: christmas, read_2012

Quotes I enjoyed from The Christmas Chronicles:

Knowledge is responsibility.

I believe there is something worse than dying. It is hopelessness. Because complete and utter hopelessness makes you want to die and that must be worse than dying.

Klaus helping the members of the village that had lost loved ones
Door to door he went and always asked the same question: "what have you lost?" And he heard the same heartrending answers: "I have lost my Johann,""my Gretchen,""my little Conrad,""all my children,...more

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Nov 19, 2010 Aubry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ok, so, I am a sucker for anything Santa Claus, and after reading The Auto-Biography of Santa Claus last year and loving the fun fictional story of a loved character such as Santa, I picked this book up from the library one day. It is a fast read... I read it in less than 2 hours... and while I thought a few times that it would be fun to read out loud to my children, I am now of the impression that this story is meant for the young-adult to adult reader. For those who struggle with feeling the "...more

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Dec 18, 2010 Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars

This creative, fictionalized memoir answers many of the questions that would cause one to doubt the existence of Santa Claus. If you want explanations on how Santa can make it to the home of every child around the world in one night, how he enters homes without chimneys, and how he knows what every child wants for Christmas, then this is the book for you. It also offers a history on how Santa (originally known as Klaus in the 14th century) becomes immortal, how the flying reindeer came to be, an...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Annalisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am excited to read this book because the author is the brother of my husband's beloved mission President.

From Publisher's Weekly: While most people know the myth of Santa Claus, few know the truth--that a 14th-century woodworker dedicated his life to making children happy, but when age and infirmity caught up with him, he was made a saint and moved north to make children happy forever. This inspiring Christmas tale skillfully weaves various popular Christmas fables (the story of Rudolph being...more

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Oct 09, 2010 Karie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book from the First Reads giveaway. I found a lot of the story to be quite charming as Slover reveals his own interpretation of how Christmas traditions were founded. The basic lesson of the story is to remember what Christmas is all about, goodwill and cheer, even in the most dismal of times and that love and truly believing can make anything possible. As a side note, I felt a strong Catholic theme throughout reading this story, Saints and Elevated Spirits , demons, etc. I am not sur...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Paula Elder added it

I am a firm believer that Christmas stories should be heard, not read in silence. Boy, do I have a new one for you! I am not going to do a synopsis because it would ruin part of the magic of this book. Let’s just say we now know where Santa was born and raised, what happened to him as he grew that changed him into Santa Claus, how he met Mrs. Claus and the reindeer. This story even explains how Santa got his costume and started going down chimneys instead of leaving the gifts outside (as he did...more

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Dec 18, 2010 Shay rated it 4 of 5 stars

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway many months ago. I know, I'm bad for not reading and reviewing it sooner. In my defense, I may not have finished it then or enjoyed it. I hate sentimental books. The only thing I normally like about them is that I can feel smugly superior to them. But, during that magical time between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, I get my visit from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future and un-Scrooge myself. So, in that frame of mind, I loved this book. So much...more

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Dec 12, 2010 Larsen rated it 3 of 5 stars

The subtitle tells it all. A delightful read which effectively, and successfully for all ages, relates the Spirit of Santa Claus to Christmas in our time. Those who are skeptical might choose to first read the Prologue and the Epilogue; then you will better understand others, especially young readers, who are caught up in the "The True and Authorized Chronicle of Santa Claus" from The Green Book. If you have enjoyed reading or watching the television presentation of C. S. Lewis' "Chronicles of N...more

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Dec 09, 2010 Julie Smith (Knitting and Sundries) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, reviewed

The book starts out with a narrator full of the Christmas spirit whose family is not too keen to join him in going into the woods to pick pine boughs, so he sets off on his own. After going further up the wooded road than he has ever been able to go (as it's not full of snow as it usually is), his car ends up rather stuck. With no cell phone reception, he decides to get the boughs, then walk down the road until he is able to telephone for help.

As he is going through the woods, he hears bells and...more The book starts out with a narrator full of the Christmas spirit whose family is not too keen to join him in going into the woods to pick pine boughs, so he sets off on his own. After going further up the wooded road than he has ever been able to go (as it's not full of snow as it usually is), his car ends up rather stuck. With no cell phone reception, he decides to get the boughs, then walk down the road until he is able to telephone for help.

As he is going through the woods, he hears bells and sees a road open before him that he had never seen before. Suddenly, a crimson-red reindeer appears driving an old-fashioned sleigh. The rider and sleigh appear to be in a hurry, and as they make a sudden turn onto the road, a book falls to the ground and the road suddenly disappears. While the narrator is pondering, a physical gray cloud full of despair suddenly overwhelms him and seems to howl in frustration at the area where the road USED to be. Once the cloud leaves, and the narrator is able to shake off the bleakness engendered in him by it's arrival, he picks up the book and walks back to his car, which is now no longer stuck, facing the correct way on the road, and has a trunkload of fresh pine boughs packaged and bundled in the trunk.

That is the prelude, which is rather good. The green book is the history of Santa Claus, as written by the official Court Historian of Castle Noel.

In this magical book, you will learn so much about Santa Claus that you will wonder why no one ever told you his real story. Klaus, orphaned by the Black Death of 1343, was adopted by the Worshipful Guild of Foresters, Carpenters, and Woodworkers, where he became a Master at a tender young age, earning the jealousy and ire of Rolf Eckhof, whose own talents are minimal at best (he will NEVER be a Master). His own hand-carved toys, blessed by the local priest, begin the Santa tradition. You will found out how the false notion of naughty behavior being a cause to receive no presents began, and why toys are delivered through chimneys (as well as the real method of delivery, which is also magical). I found out that elves is a shortened name for Elevated Spirits, and that the Green Council (who appointed Klaus to Castle Noel), although made of saints, squabble with each other over minor details.

Anna, Klaus's wife, adds such a lovely breath of romance to the story. She is a surprisingly marvelous, well-drawn addition, with her own strong character and her ingenuous plans for nabbing her man.

Rolf and his vengeful plots add exactly the right amount of intrigue and suspense, and each time he causes trouble, you just want to slap him in the head (not that I'm an advocate of violence, but he deserves it .. read it and you will see).

This is a book that is going on my keeper shelf. Right now, I am re-reading it with Bebe Boy James (a bit each evening until Christmas), and he is enjoying it too.

QUOTES (may differ slightly from the finished version, as these are from an ARC):

Look. I'm going to be revealing so many wonders over the course of this account that you might just as well get used to contemplating them. I've had to. So I shall stop hesitating and trying to prepare you for the incredible. I'll just assume you're keeping up.

A great longing suddenly grew up in him to rest, to sell his tools and move with Anna into the retirement house next door and spend his days holding her hand in the sun.

Only a very special person, one who is almost an Elevated Spirit already, may see Klaus or his reindeer on Christmas Eve - and then only as the barest flicker that teases their imaginings. Charles Dickens was such a person, as were Clement Moore and Mr. May - but once again I'm getting ahead of this chronicle.

BOOK RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars(less)

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Feb 08, 2012 Mayda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, christmas, holiday

This is the perfect audio book for all you crafters who, in the heat of summer, are busy making Christmas gifts and decorations. This well-executed dramatic reading by William Dufris will certainly entertain you and put you in a Christmassy mood while you are busy toiling on your crafts. Crank up the AC and drink some hot chocolate to complete the faux feeling of the season. It is an interesting tale but hardly a new Christmas classic. Save the true classics for December, when you really want to...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: early-reviewers, christmas

A sweet little Christmas book about the true origins of Santa Claus, or as he should be known, Saint Klaus. Apparently Klaus started as a carpenter who just wanted to make toys for the children in his village. Then he met a beautiful seamstress named Anna who had a reindeer named Dasher. They fell in love and started a Christmas Eve tradition of bringing toys to children as far as they could reach. Throw in an evil villain and things get a little silly, but it was still a pretty fun read. Recomm...more

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Dec 16, 2011 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children, adult-lit, contemporary, fairy-tale, favorites, magic, read-aloud

The Christmas Chronicles gives a new twist to the Legend of Santa Claus that I admit is almost believable! It starts out a little more contemporary than I was expecting, but it was PERFECT! A man wants to cut down a Christmas tree, gets stuck in the snow, and happens upon something very magical--a glowing red talking reindeer pulling a small glowing person in a sleigh quickly through the forest up to a road that goes straight up, smells strongly of peppermint, and disappears once they reach it!...more

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Jan 07, 2011 Lori rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read Tim Slover's The Christmas Chronicles the week of Christmas and found it a charming and enticing tale, perfect for the holidays or any other time of year.

Most of us know the overall story of Santa Claus and if you are like me, you have watched every Christmas classic around. But author Tim Slover has taken a new and novel approach to how an orphaned child named Klaus would become a toymaker and distributor beloved by children and adults the world over. He seamlessly weaves numerous eleme...more

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Nov 20, 2010 Naleen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, first-reads

Where do I begin? To start off with, I am not the intended audience for this book. I love christmas, but for all the wrong reasons. I will admit, I love the holiday for all the cheesy commercialization that it inspires. I like shopping for gifts, and I like being hit in the face with all the glittery decorations that the season brings about in stores and malls. I like hanging out with friends, drinking warm drinks spiced with various sorts of flavored liquors, playing games, exchanging gifts and...more Where do I begin? To start off with, I am not the intended audience for this book. I love christmas, but for all the wrong reasons. I will admit, I love the holiday for all the cheesy commercialization that it inspires. I like shopping for gifts, and I like being hit in the face with all the glittery decorations that the season brings about in stores and malls. I like hanging out with friends, drinking warm drinks spiced with various sorts of flavored liquors, playing games, exchanging gifts and just trying to be merry during the darkest days of the year. Christmas is not a spiritual time for me. I am not a believer of any sort and get angry when christians try to claim the holiday for their own.

This being said, I was a little annoyed that Slover seemed to gloss over and make up tales about how christmas traditions started instead of giving credit to the pre-christian people who created most of the traditions we celebrate as "christmas". Slover was not overtly trying to make the case that "jesus is the reason for the season", but the lack of any consideration of the true origins of these celebrations (with the exception of a minor cameo appearance of the dalai lama- another oddity that didn't make sense to me) and the insertion of people from the original nativity story lead me to think that this was Slover's underlying philosophy.

Slover also derides the over commercialization of christmas. But he writes about shopping for gifts and decorating his house with lights and stuff. I just wonder where he draws the line on this particular topic. Is the way that he celebrates christmas the only way to do it? How many presents equals too much commercialization? Is it going against the christmas spirit if I give Home Depot my hard earned money to buy outdoor and indoor lights to decorate with? This is just my personal anecdotal observation, but it seems that the people who yell about the "overcommercialization" of christmas are the ones who indulge in it the most. They also seem to be the ones who have the means to do this.

Slover also makes multiple pleas for the reader to share his story to others. It seems to me to be a bit premature to think that your own story is going to be such a big hit that people should be passing it on to others. If the story really is that good, you will not have to ask your readers to do this. They will do it on their own.

Now, to the actual story. I will admit, I enjoyed reading parts of this. It was easy and light-hearted and honestly kind of fun. I don’t hate Christmas, despite all my ramblings above. But Slover’s story is nothing new. It’s just a simple retelling of Santa Claus story and reads like a bunch of “just-so” stories. We hear about how Claus liked Anna’s cookies and that is why cookies are such an important Christmas tradition. We also read about how Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer (or Ranulf, as Slover calls him) came into being. Overall the story reads like a cross between the clay-mation holiday classics on TV and The Santa Claus movie starring Tim Allen.

The story ends with a plea to the reader to not trust material evidence and trust instead in true belief. True belief, in this case, to the story presented, but it is easy to see how this can apply to the author’s presumed religious beliefs as well. This is one of my biggest personal pet peeves. It’s fine to ask a reader to suspend their disbelief for a story. But it’s not ok to teach people that actual evidence doesn’t matter. I think it is a disservice to humanity to teach that any belief one might have trumps physical evidence to the contrary. Sometimes, ok MOST of the time, the simplest explanation is the correct one and we don’t need to go out and make crazy stories to explain events that are better explained through simple observation and scientific inquiry.

That being said, enjoy this book if it is your cup of tea. There is nothing wrong with a delightful Christmas tale. I am going to re-read A Christmas Carol now instead.

(less)

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Nov 03, 2010 Amanda rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 22, 2010 Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

* This was an ARC that I won from GR Giveaways.*

The Christmas Chronicles is the biography of Santa Claus. I know. It can't really be a biography if the person isn't real. But that is the easiest way to describe it--it is the biography of the man, the myth and the legend that was once so vividly real to most of us at a young age.

Slover creates the timeline of our dear Kris Kringle with the details of Santa we all knew as a child (the reindeer, coming down the chimney, etc.) and the tidbits of "le...more * This was an ARC that I won from GR Giveaways.*

The Christmas Chronicles is the biography of Santa Claus. I know. It can't really be a biography if the person isn't real. But that is the easiest way to describe it--it is the biography of the man, the myth and the legend that was once so vividly real to most of us at a young age.

Slover creates the timeline of our dear Kris Kringle with the details of Santa we all knew as a child (the reindeer, coming down the chimney, etc.) and the tidbits of "legend" we heard about a real man that could have existed as a Santa Claus of sorts in his time and infuses into the story the things we've never heard about Santa. Clover convincingly fills in the holes for us. He takes us through his childhood and how he became a toymaker, his courtship with the future Mrs. Claus, how he got to the North Pole and where he is now. There is even an epic battle at the end! Did you know Santa had an enemy? We learn all the specifics--how those reindeer fly, how the big guy gets down the chimney and *gasp* what if there is NO chimney. The detail is incredible and the book is so short!

Slover creates this refreshing take on Santa Claus but does not lose the familiarity of the Santa that we all knew and love. He makes me truly want to believe in Santa again. On a deeper level, I liked the dialogue around rekindling belief and Christmas spirit. I know it sounds hokey. I'm not saying I'm going to go believing in Santa again or anything..because the underneath of my tree would be hella empty if I did that..but what I'm saying is that sometimes we need something to believe in to make us forget about the weariness of the world--the bills, finding a job, tough decisions, etc. We need hope and I think this book does what the legendary Santa was supposed to do for us -- "heal the world of its hopelessness. Curing it of its grayness. Year by year helping the world remember that it has a heart." We might not find it in a man named Santa who scarfs down cookies and creeps in our houses but we can find it in something.

My final thought: Read this if you are looking to be taken back to your childhood belief of Santa but more grown up and a complete story. Read this if you want to "know" Santa. It's quick and the perfect length. It's not mind blowing or anything but it's a really good story of the "man" who is a part of some of our most cherished childhood memories.(less)

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Jan 24, 2011 mlady_rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads__entered, genre__christmas, first-reads, 2011, 2011__gave_to_charity, fiction__not_part_of_a_series, in_retrospect__forgettable, format__trade_pb

It's odd to read a Christmas book in January, but the over commercialization of Christmas (which attacks us earlier and more virulently each year) just sucked the pleasure out of the idea of such innocent tales in the midst of the shopping and begging frenzy.

That said, this book is so sweet that it's like mainlining candy for a week. And it's clearly "Christian fiction", pushing as many of the non-secular Christmas traditions into the sway of Christianity as possible.

(And, no, I don't consider...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Vegantrav rated it 4 of 5 stars

a lovely little Christmas fairy tale with a good mix of magic as well as--as is in all good fairy tales--a genuine threat from a villain

Slover explains how Klaus, a carpenter from the Black Forest, became Santa Claus and provides an explanation for all the phenomena (flying reindeer, delivering presents all around the world despite there being insufficient time to do so, etc.) associated with Santa Claus

a quick and delightful read . . . a perfect tale at Christmas for children and adults alike

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Sep 25, 2012 Melodie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012

Okay, I admit it....I'm a grinch. I used to absolutely love Christmas and all the hype and hoopla, but over the last few years I've become so jaded about the whole thing that I wouldn't even put up the little tree we have if my husband didn't do it. This was a cute story and would probably great to read to little kids, but I'm just the wrong market for this. This is actually a 2.5 star book for me, but since it's a holiday story I'm going the extra 1/2. Probably great for others.....just not us...more

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