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The True Gift: A Christmas Story
- By Patricia MacLachlan
- Genre: Holiday
Common Sense Media says
Simple, lyrical, gentle tale of true giving.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is a gentle book with absolutely nothing to be concerned about, and one that carries strong messages of love, caring, giving, and selflessness as the bringers of true joy and contentment, at the holidays or any other time.
What's the story?
Lily and her younger brother Liam take their annual trip to their grandparents' farm for Christmas, loaded with books to read and plans for buying presents at the local general store. But Liam notices right away that their grandparents' last cow, White Cow, is now all alone, and he believes it is lonely. So he embarks on a plan, with his sister's initially reluctant help, to find out about the emotional life of cows, and then to do something about it.
Is it any good?
How is it that Patricia Maclachlan has never done a Christmas story before? Could there be a more perfect match for the holiday season than her gorgeously simple, lyrical prose, her gentle way of revealing depths of character through dialog, her deep understanding of the human heart? Nobody, but nobody, can make the simple joys of family love so breathtakingly clear.
Not only is there no sex, drugs, violence, swearing, or anything else a parent might be concerned about; there are also, as in Maclachlan's other books, no villains either. She doesn't need them. How is it possible for a story so sweet and gentle to be so engrossing and so deeply moving, yet not for a moment cloying or sappy? She does it, in part, with prose that is drily matter-of-fact and earthy, yet manages at the same time to read like the best poetry ever written for children, with rhythms that carry readers along on currents of feeling. This is a book to read together with a child, curled up on a winter evening in bed or in front of a fireplace, and let those currents carry your child into sleep.
The b&w drawings are gentle and unobtrusive.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the emotional lives of animals. Do they have
feelings? How can we know? Are their feelings like ours?Why do
Liam and Lily make the sacrifices they do? What draws them, especially
Liam, to White Cow? Why is Lily at first reluctant to go along?Liam and
Lily are very close siblings. What can make siblings close? What drives
them apart? Is it realistic for siblings to care for each other this
way? Do you care for your siblings and other relatives? Why?
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AGE
Thoughtful and charming
Very short, thoughtful story, that gets its message across without being "preachy" or dull. Was a terrific Christmas gift for my daughter and nieces.
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Kid, 11 years old
December 19, 2009
AGE
cute
I think it is a good book for girls & boys because there is a brother & sister as the main characters. I would recommend this to fellow animal lovers.
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Kid, 11 years old
October 9, 2011
AGE
True Gift
it was fabulos! i want to read it again and again.
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| Author: | Patricia MacLachlan |
| Illustrator: | Brian Floca |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Holiday |
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | October 16, 2009 |
| Number of pages: | 81 |
| Hardcover price: | $12.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 8 - 12 |
| Read aloud: | 7 |
| Read alone: | 8 |
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