A few weeks ago, a local newspaper reporter interviewed me and other authors about our favorite published Christmas story. I shared mine as being The Best Christmas Pageant Ever because I see it as showing the need to exhibit authentic love for those many consider unlovable — an especially good message at Christmastime.
With that in mind, I checked to find what Yuletide story others choose, regardless of whether they are an author or not. In the process, I discovered some stories enticing enough to add to my list of literacy future reads.
I counted about a half dozen individuals who like Pageant best or near best. I attribute the quality of the story to its having authenticity, a healthy dose of humor, and most importantly, a lasting message that challenges the reader to act more nobly.
Ramon Greene mentioned stories that surprised me as being Christmas-related books. “Batman Returns and Die Hard are two staples… one is set on Christmas Eve and the other involves Christmas time about two rich orphans fighting during the holiday,” he explained. I’ll take Ramon’s word for it.
Author Georgia Green Stamper chose Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory,” with Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” a “close second.” Tommy Dennison, a librarian in Versailles, agreed with her on the Capote book. Ted Sloan referenced one of Stamper’s short stories, “Shepherds in Bathrobes,” calling it one about “plain human decency.”
One of my most bibliophilic friends, Stephanie Brown, loves The Christmas Box, by Richard Paul Evans. But she especially loves a Christmas story she wrote and submitted nearly a decade ago that appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Called “The Mitten Tree,” it’s a true story dealing with Stephanie’s first grade class and a “Secret Santa” who bought mittens for all the students. Besides being in print, her story also appeared online and was shared to people in other parts of the world. “How words can travel, even my simple ones, will forever amaze me,” said Stephanie.
And speaking of those writing their own favorite published Christmas stories, Melissa Beckley, a former teacher and now a hair stylist, has recently released a children’s book, her first, called Santa Believes. She described it this way. “Santa invites all his elves on Christmas Eve together and he tells the story of Jesus’ birth. He simply reminds the elves that their gift-giving is just a reflection of what Jesus taught, which is to love others.”
Celia Thompson recalls that her child, Rob, adored the book, Twelve Bells for Santa, because it “always made him laugh,” she said. She also loves The Christmas Box, which deals with the loss of a loved one. After her husband died recently, she mentioned that the book “probably means more to me this year than ever.”
Silver Packages, by Cynthia Rylant, is Sally Horowitz’s special Christmas book. It’s one that she read to her second graders and “could not finish reading the last page without choking up.” The story deals with a boy living in Appalachia who looks forward to a “Christmas train” that moves through his community yearly and drops off presents. The boy always longs for a doctor kit in the drop off, but never gets it. I’ll leave the ending to the reader of the book, but it is touching, as Sally attests.
The Redbird Christmas, by Fannie Flagg, is the choice of Mary Sue Mitchell, and The Tale of Three Trees, for Jennifer Butler, is “so moving.” Doris Settles is a fan of the classic, The Gift of the Magi. Beth Garrod-Logsdon, a minister in Wilmore, appreciates — along with the aforementioned Pageant — a book called The Other Wiseman, by Henry Van Dyke.
Beth said this of Wiseman. “First, I love the story and how Artaban just always seems to miss seeing Jesus because he keeps getting sidetracked by helping people in very Jesus-like ways. Second, I love the story because my middle school Sunday school teacher—who has always been a mentor in faith and life to me—read it to us in Sunday school. Later she adapted it for our youth group to do as a Christmas pageant.”
Bettie Ockerman a favorite Christmas poem, called “Annie and Willie’s Prayer,” centering around a Victorian family. She gave a summary. “Mom has died, and Dad, who doesn’t want to celebrate Christmas and has no gifts for his children, gruffly sends them to bed on Christmas Eve.”
After thinking about it, the father feels bad about what he did and checks on his children, finding them kneeling at their beds graciously praying for him. “Dad goes out into the cold and finds the gifts they pray for,” said Bettie. “The prayer is precious.”
Connie Crowe, who formerly chaired The Kentucky Book Fair, likes Jesse Stuart’s short story, “Santa’s Visit,” and Sharon Turner picks the book, Polar Express, because it portrays, she said, “the magic of Christmas.”
I’ve already mentioned a favorite Christmas story with the subject being about mittens. Vickie Hunter brought up another item that warms our hands and also warms out hearts. The story is Socks for Christmas. Set in the 1960s, a child is disappointed with his aunt’s gift of socks as a Christmas present. He later discovered that a classmate had received an old pair of shoes and no socks as a consequence of his family being poor. “He came to the realization not everyone gets presents for Christmas due to poverty,” Vickie said, “and it helped him learn to appreciate the little gifts he received and to be aware of those who receive very little.”
And for whatever Christmas narrative best connects to you, here’s hoping you’ll have a joyful holiday season… and thanks for reading Kentucky by Heart.
