Christmas of the Cherry Snow

by Richard Siddoway

Richard M. SiddowayThe Christmas Wish (made into a movie for television and is now a perennial Christmas classic), writes a touching Christmas story that will warm every heart. In the midst of the Christmas season, thirteen year old Robert must not only take over the operation of the family business, but also must wrestle with maintaining his courage in the face of mounting problems following his father's near-fatal accident. The Christmas tree with it's colorful ornaments and gifts becomes a symbol of hope. As weeks turn into months and winter turns into spring, the family struggles to keep faith and survive. Set in the 1950's, Christmas of the Cherry Snow is an inspiring holiday story about love and healing, about keeping hope in the face of tragedy, and about a mother's determination to never give up.

Genres: Christmas

210 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2001

About the author

I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and reared in Bountiful, a town about 10 miles north of Salt Lake City. I graduated in the first graduating class from Bountiful High School in 1957. Five years later I returned to teach at BHS. I taught there for 26 years with a year out to teach among my Navajo friends in Chinle, Arizona.

I left Bountiful High School when I became vice principal at Viewmont High School--Bountiful's cross-town rivals. I then moved to the Davis School District Office as the supervisor of library/media and technology education. In 1994 Governor Michael O. Leavitt asked me to build the first state-wide virtual high school. When I retired in 2007 the Electronic High School was the largest high school in the nation.

I served three terms in the Utah House of Representatives--the last two years as Speaker Pro Tempore.

I have been lucky enough to have several books published; one of them, "The Christmas Wish" was a New York Times best seller and was made into a movie starring Debbie Reynolds, Neil Patrick Harris, and Naomi Watts.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have served as a Bishop and Stake President. My wife and I have served missions in Nauvoo, Illinois, and Taylorsville, Utah (Spanish).

Most importantly we have eight children and twenty six grandchildren.

Reviews

[Celena]

I think one of the worst Christmas books I can remember reading. Does have a happy ending, but very unrealistic and quite boring😬😬 Since it was so short I decided to just finish it.

[Janice]

This was not a very good Christmas book. There were some good themes of hard work and faith and importance of family, but overall, it was a big disappointment. A young boy watches his father fall off the roof on Christmas Eve, and because his dad remains in a coma for months, he becomes the man of the house. I liked how he took on his new responsibilities while still remaining a young boy. And the mother stays faithful and true to her husband although the doctors don't give him much hope, but it was anticlimactic with a poor ending and no real message. At least I can cross this off my Christmas Book list for next year. My advice, don't waste the time, even if it is a couple of hours. But the cover is pretty.

[M]

2.5 stars. I really enjoyed Siddoway's book, The Christmas Wish and had hope for this one that didn't pan out. I gave it 2.5 stars because it was a quick read that kept me involved and reading to the end. If it hadn't been a Christmas story, I might have give the book three stars. But, I rounded down it was supposed to be a feel-good Christmas book. The entire book was sad, with a short "happy" but unrealistic resolution. I predicted the ending but did not find it satisfying. Mostly, I was very disappointed at the turn a character took that influenced the last third of the book--especially for a Christmas book. I didn't like the epilogue that tried to smooth over all the problems.

[Angeline Anger]

For a Christmas story, it was entirely too depressing. It did have a "happy" ending that consisted of about one paragraph. The whole book just dragged.

[Cydnie]

I found this in one of my drawers. I think someone gave it to us for Christmas a while back. I found the writing to be stiff and a bit mediocre. I kept reading to see if it got any better. It didn't.

I don't know if this is based on the writer's childhood or not. If so, then I will excuse the awkward scene between the mother and Uncle Gus. If not, then what was the author thinking when he added that? It just felt so weird and out of place.

I did not enjoy this enough to recommend it to anyone. It will go into the donation bag.

[Dorry Lou]

I loved this story about a family ready to enjoy Christmas when tragedy struck. So much about the faith of the Mother. A good story about family love and how they waited to open their gifts until Dad regained consciousness.

[Gelene]

Wonderful novella! I really enjoyed this story. It’s heartwarming and has a couple of surprising parts that made it even more interesting. If you love reading nostalgic Christmas stories around Christmas time, then this is for you.

[Angela]

Hey sweet short story that takes you back in time. A good grade.

[Lacey]

Things are going ok for Robert and his family until Christmas Eve. The persistence of a leaky roof prompts his parents to climb out on the wet roof to try to fix it. Tragic consequences result as both of his parents fall of the roof and are injured. Now that Robert's father is in a coma with a very questionable outcome it is up to him to take care of the orchard and the family. More and more hardships come up and it is up to Robert and his family to keep the faith and face whatever troubles may come. A heartwarming story of Christmas, family, faith and the strength to overcome!

[Kelly]

great winter story, makes you count your blessings and remember what is important

[Jocelyn]

Just finished this book today and I did like it basically, but it's not one of my favorites, or even one I'd necessarily "highly recommend." It's a nice story of the faith of a family (especially a mother) who experience a severe trial in their lives and find the strength to continue on. I won't give away the ending, or even the twists in the plot, but after reading Harry Potter, the story dragged too much, and after reading quite a few good solid classics, the writing and substance wasn't high enough for me to love it regardless of the slow speed. (I am not usually one to complain about a book dragging if there are a lot of other exceptional qualities to buoy it up.) The ending, in juxtaposition to the rest of the book, seemed much too rushed and was an unnatural effort to tell "the rest of the story" in two or three pages. That didn't work for me either.

[Arlington Leatham]

This book was about two kids whose parents fall off the roof Christmas eve and both end up severely injured. Their mother heals very quickly but sadly their dad does not. They do not know if he will live. They decide to wait to celebrate Christmas until their dad gets well. Sadly they begin losing hope. I think that the theme for this story is never lose hope. As soon as they all begin to lose hope they began to feel worse and it seemed that their dad would get worse. They began to doubt that their dad would ever get better. But when they kept hope they were happier. And their dad seemed to get better too. I like this book because it had lots of detail, it was interesting, and it flowed well. I did not like this book because there were multiple parts that were hard to understand and follow and some of the characters bugged me.

[Debbie Mattson]

I like this book for the values it taught about work and family unity. I also liked learning a little more about what needs to be done to keep an orchard operating. I was however very disappointed in how one of the characters tries to have an o fare with another character. We bought this book to be a Christmas book that we can read together as a family. With the junk they brought in I wouldn't want to read this to my kids.

[Emma]

Easy read. It starts off as Christmas. It then takes you through spring. Sometimes the subject is less than upbeat and you begin to wonder about the welfare of the charactors. The description of the orchards and the bonds that glue a family together was excellent. It reminded me when I lived in Eastern Washington, amongst fruit orchards and the small town personalities.

[Kelly]

just one of those "feel good" christmas stories to help you get into the christmas spirit. it was a nice change from "the christmas shoes" tear-jerker types. it helped me to appreciate what i have and to realize that my children are far more capable than i think they are, or that i give them credit for. i recommend it for a nice quick holiday read.

[Tiffeny]

I didn't love this book, but I liked it. I hated how the mother made the children wait to open their Christmas presents. I thought that was so rude and unnecessary. Let the kids (especially that poor little girl) have their Christmas, and take that darn tree down for heaven's sake. But, that was really my biggest complaint, so it was OK.

[Marissa]

2.5.
I understand what they were trying to do, but no mother in her right mind would make her children hold off opening Christmas presents in the hopes of their dad getting better. I know, I know, it was the theme of the book. But that doesn't mean I agreed. I was hoping for a book to put me in the Christmas spirit. This didn't do it.

[Victoria]

Robert's father and mother fall of the roof while fixing a leak on Christmas eve. FAther goes into a coma and young Robert learns the hard work his father must do to keep the family orchard. The family decides not to open Christmas gifts until father can be there. It is a very long wait.

[Kim Ivins]

I enjoyed the good themes about faith, hard work and not giving up in the book. I disliked how the book dragged on and then when good news hits, the book quickly ends in 2 pages. I wanted more details at the end. It ended too abruptly.

[Audrey]

great christmas book! for everyone young and old and the whole family for that matter.
Happy Holidays!

[Chelsea Stephenson]

The author was my old Stake President when I lived in the Val Verda stake! Such a great Christmas story for the family!

[Rebecca]

A young boy's father is hurt in a terrible accident Christmas Eve. This is the story of the faith of a mother and the determination of one family to make the best of some bad circumstances.

[Carolyn C.]

Hmmmm...this was a cute story. I found it pretty mediocre. Nothing very outstanding or redeeming about it.

[Maureen]

A good leisurely read for Christmas time. I enjoyed reading the detailed descriptions of day-to-day life on a farm in 1950s America.

[Kristene]

http://booklvrslounge.blogspot.com/

[Sara]

A very touching story!

[Rickelle]

Heartwarming story about a boy's journey in finding faith and coming to fully appreciate his father's work in providing for his family.