Talk about receiving a wonderful early Christmas gift, I just got one. I’ve been privileged to review The Santa Letters by Stacy Gooch-Anderson, and it really was a treat to do so. Here is a set of messages we all need to reflect on during the Christmas seasons, presented in a sweet and endearing way.
Take a moment to view this beautiful book trailer that portrays the heart of this book’s premise and message.
Did you catch the spirit of the messages this book contains? They really are beautiful and timely. No, the basic gospel themes aren’t really all that new and original. In fact, I can guarantee you have heard them before in many different Sunday School and Relief Society lessons, but I think you’ll “listen” a little more attentively this time. There is nothing here but a sense of love and a desire for everyone to know the peace of gospel truths at Christmas, or any time of the year.
The Santa Letters are all about healing and remembering the many blessings we each enjoy, whether they readily occur to us or not. Each “Santa” letter comes with a bit of inspiration, a bit of advice on how to understand the joys of life better, a bit of the gospel, and a lot of Christ-like love. They all work together to form an uplifting experience for anyone who might be feeling a little overwhelmed. I’d put it on the must read list for most of us, if only for the letters themselves. If your children are a little bit older, The Santa Letters might also be a great read-aloud kick off for your own family’s Christmas season.
There are times when the characters feel less than real to me, and times that the writing lacks the smooth, poetic flow that I appreciate with the type of poignant message The Santa Letters contains, but all-in-all it’s a very sweet book for a first time novelist. You can find Stacey’s own account of the inspiration behind this book and sample the first chapter on her website www.thesantaletters.org. (Word to the wise, however, mute your sound while browsing. The background musical flourish was a nice touch when I opened the site but not so much after it kept repeating every few seconds!)
As many of us start to look toward finding the Christmas spirit, I pray we can take a little of The Santa Letters into our own hearts and lives. We all need more McKennas and Santas in our lives. Who can you be for someone else this year?
My suggestion: buy a bunch of copies and you’ve got an instant Christmas present appropriate for almost anyone on your list. Need to do a little more than just a book? Go through and find the topic of each letter, wrap a small gift for each topic to include with the books and instructions to read the book together, opening their own gifts after reading that specific letter. Plus, the story, “A Strange Visit” that the book mentioned being given to the family is included in the back of the book for you, as well as a few ideas for simple goodie bags. Need more help? Then visit the Santa Letter Shop on Stacy’s site. You’ll find downloadable Santa letters to start you on your way.
There. Christmas is all done. You can thank me by sending massive amounts of chocolate. Errr, maybe you should send Stacy Gooch-Anderson the chocolate instead. After all, they are her words and thoughts that can touch just about any heart.
Stacy is on virtual book tour this month, promoting The Santa Letters. You can check in on her progress and say “hi” from here.
Return to the Neighborhood
I have recently decided that I need a whole lot of clear wall space to hang pictures on. No, I haven’t suddenly gotten motivated to go through my boxes of family photos. I’ve simply gotten out one of my favorite books again. My Dear Sisters by Gordon B. Hinckley is a little different from most of the books I talk about here. It’s what I would refer to as a coffee table book, and a book of inspirational thoughts. It’s simple, straight forward and very short. Perfect for those of us who are easily distracted or interrupted.
You can read the entire book straight through in the amount of time it would take to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; but, it will take you months, even years to fully absorb its messages. Working to absorb the messages has been my quest of late. My Dear Sisters is a beautiful book, both in message and appearance. I like to pull it out when my spirit needs a simple lift. You can open to just about any page and find something your heart needs to hear coupled with an elegant illustration that speaks volumes of its own. I love these few quiet moments when I leaf through its pages, but I’ve decided I need something more.
Here’s my plan. I’d like to have multiple copies of My Dear Sisters that I can cut apart. Don’t panic, I know that sounds like sacrilege to some of you, but hear me out. I’d like to take all of those pages and couple them in matted frames for two pictures. I’d like to take those beautiful illustrations and their accompanying devotionals and hang them on my wall. I’d like to walk down a hall or around a room and find myself surrounded by President Hinckley, and my Father in Heaven’s love for me. I can think of no better way to create a sacred space for myself. I want a place that speaks to my heart and the nature of who I am and want to be. This book does that for me, but it’s a little hard to keep it propped open somewhere to just the right page for the day or week.
There are some messages that repeat themselves, with a slightly different angle, and I sometimes think they might have put the book together in an order where the “themes” all appear in the same place. Then again, there are just as many times when I’m glad they don’t appear quite so sequentially. I like the randomness of just wandering through its pages “talking” with the prophet and his dear wife about whatever strikes our fancy and interest. My Dear Sisters is that kind of experience. I think the cover depicts its quality and potential perfectly. It reminds me of quiet moments when I’ve been able to wander in a favorite garden. It carries a peace and aroma of love that permeate your every cell and fiber. Then sometimes, every once in a while, you stop to take a closer look at a particular blossom, petal or pattern. You feel the textures under your fingers and pick out that one particular scent from all the rest, then straighten back up filled with joy for just being alive and realizing how many beautiful gifts Heavenly Father has given each us. Reading My Dear Sisters is walking through a garden of blessing that Heavenly Father reserves just for His daughters. Each time you walk through its pages, you’ll likely stop to appreciate a different blossom of inspiration, but it will always be the message Heavenly Father most needs you to hear at that time.
So, I’ve decided I want to literally walk through the pages. I want them to catch my eye as I move about my home. I want them to become so second nature that they become part of my thoughts as I wake and part of my dreams as I sleep. Do you think there is a wall big enough in my home to hang all these pictures on? Would it work if I just kept one frame by my desk and changed out the picture and message as I needed? Well, maybe not, but my walls might thank me for it.
Does My Dear Sisters come in screen saver form?
Return to the Neighborhood
I just made a new friend. Well, okay, I’ve never really met him, nor will I be able to anytime soon. I value his friendship just the same. Morrie is the kind of best friend everyone should have. Yep. I finally got around to spending my Tuesdays with Morrie. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom was a national best-seller several years ago, but like most things popular in the national market, I eyed it with suspicion and stuck to my already lengthy list of books to read. I’m sure if I would have paid closer attention to what the “critics” were saying about Tuesdays with Morrie, I might have actually read it then; but, I’ve tried a few of those so called inspiring titles and found many of their messages significantly lacking in inspiration or even good writing in some cases.
What changed? Well, let’s call it audio book deprivation. See, my addiction to books is both rampant and well defined. I simply must have books available to me no matter where I am or what I’m doing. This means driving, exercising, doing (ugggh) house work, relaxing, you name it. Some of these times are very dangerous to bring an actual book into; in fact it may actually be illegal in some states. So, I use audio books. Now, some people don’t like audio books and I will admit that there have been a few that I simply haven’t been able to stand the voice of the narrator or their interpretation of the story. However, on the whole I can add a few more books a week by being able to listen when my hands and eyes are otherwise occupied.
I discovered audio books when my first two children became old enough to argue over who got to choose the radio station in the car. Viola! No more arguments. Well, maybe a few times when they didn’t want to get back out of the car before the chapter was over but that’s another issue. I found listening kept my mind occupied enough to keep it off of other unpleasantries as well. It’s been good for me and I love it.
Now back to my Morrie story.
I was suffering audio book withdrawal, and needed to make a trip to the library. Enter the problem. The library I had to visit that particular day makes no distinction in what reading group an audio book is most appropriate for. You have to go through title by title to find things or know exactly what you want to pick it out immediately. I had a whole afternoon, so I browsed. Enter Morrie. I shrugged and put him in my library bag figuring it couldn’t hurt. I had no idea how uplifting it could be.
No, the messages aren’t that unique, but their presentation is very effective. This is an account of actual events passing between a dying man and his one-time student. It’s very interesting to hear the perspectives of life given by a man who knows his days are limited. It is not death he fears, but rather passing on without helping others understand that if you’ve lived a good life there’s really nothing to fear.
What matters in life? Like many of us suspect, it has very little to do with what the world tells us matters. In Morrie’s opinion it all boils down to love. I’ll let him explain it more, but Morrie and Mitch discuss every aspect of life: health, love, children, dying, work, money, you name it. His insights are the gentle whisperings are familiar, but they feel like they’re coming from a beloved friend or wise grandparent sitting across from us, patting our hand and saying, “It’s all right. You can stretch beyond the world’s opinions and be who you really want to be.”
I would highly recommend spending a few days with Morrie yourself. Yes, you’ll have to censor his language on approximately three occasions, but it is very forgivable. In fact, I recommend getting your hands on the audio if you can. Even if you’re not an audio book person, there is an extra treat at the end. After listening to Morrie’s story read by Mitch Albom, you get to hear portions of the actual recorded conversations between the two men. Hearing those sweet words of wisdom from Morrie’s own lips was my favorite part of the book. In this case, the hype was well deserved in my humble opinion. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is definitely worth the read, or if you can, the listen.
Chickens in the Headlights by Matthew Buckley is quite possibly one of the funniest LDS books for children that I’ve read. I love it even more for the fact that good LDS literature for children is a rarity. It seems it’s rather hard to compete with the national market for a child’s reading attention and the parent’s spending dollars. The smaller LDS publishers just can’t offer books as cheaply as the national books can be offered. I’m sure there are plenty of us that hunger for more titles like this, but in reality would you rather pay $5 for a book from their school book club paper or $15 from the local LDS bookstore? Many of us would like to say the gospel messages and content we didn’t have to worry about would be worth the extra $10, but in actuality how many times is your wallet truly able to make that choice? Because it is not an easy thing to do, I applaud Matthew for getting Covenant to take a chance on his “fun in an LDS setting” book for children (and their parents, too).
I bought Chickens in the Headlights shortly after it came out as a result of a marathon book signing weekend of my own. After spending two days staring at that cover and hearing different store employees repeat over and over again how hard they laughed, I just had to get my grubby hands on it. Home it went in my extra piece of luggage I always bring along for the sheer purpose of filling it with LDS books. J
It was one of the first titles from the trip that I read. (See the above about falling in love with the cover.) I read it in one night. My husband began to wonder what was wrong with me— I’d alternately burst out in laughter, cry, and turn purple from trying not to laugh some more. I finally took the book downstairs so he could actually sleep. I also let my neighbor, who is not LDS, read this one. She was laughing so hard she ended up having to read it out loud for her own husband and child.
I waited a while longer to get Bullies in the Headlights. Oh, I was excited to get that one in my hands, too. But, I also have this thing about having at least one book by each of my friends on my shelf that is actually signed by the author. I figure when I die, my posterity can look through my book collection and say, “Wow, look at all the famous people grandma knew!” That’s another story all together. Needless to say, I brought Bullies home in my “book” bag from the next LDStorymakers conference, complete with author signature.
I’ve read both Chickens in the Headlights and Bullies in the Headlights by Matthew Buckley aloud to my boys (7 and 9) and it was a treat to do so. I must admit however that of the two, we much preferred Chickens to Bullies. I can’t answer for my children, but for me the main difference seemed to be in the boldness of the “message” or moral of the story. See, in Chickens in the Headlights you learn a lot of valuable lessons about finding joy in life and the blessings of family, but most of the time you don’t really know you’re learning them. It’s clear, but subtly woven in with antics that will leave you in stitches. Bullies in the Headlights isn’t quite so subtle. Oh, yes, there are still very funny parts and the storyline is still very true to what young boys would be thinking and doing, but this time the main character is actively looking for the “moral of the story”. The character version of the author is nagged by a sneaking suspicion that bullying bullies isn’t exactly Christ-like and goes looking for ways to both answer his questions and justify his own answers. ( BTW— One of the places he turns is a Primary teacher that I would absolutely love to hug for his atypical, but loving, characteristics.) It is a really great message, but my boys wanted to spend less time pontificating the realities of “should I or shouldn’t I”. They just wanted to hear more about chicken armpits.
Okay, are you ready for the really fun part? Mr. Buckley recently got permission to provide a free audio version of Chickens in the Headlights! Yippeee! So, if you’re not able to get your hands on a printed copy right away, go to Matthew’s website, http://chickenarmpits.com and listen. It will brighten you’re whole day.
Want more? Matthew Buckley has another free audio book available, also very giggle worthy, but made for general youth audiences not just LDS kids. You can listen to Matthew read this fun story at http://thesupertrio.com. Happy listening!
Return to the Neighborhood
For me, walking into the children’s and teen sections of a library or bookstore is a truly drool worthy exercise in euphoria. Some day I’m going to devise the ultimate scheme which will let me park myself in front of those shelves and never move again.
Ok, I could figure out a way to buy them or check them out, but then I’d have to lug them home. I’m running out of room for books as it is.
I could go on, but suffice it to say that this is one of my favorite places to be. It can only be trumped by my
So, today I’d like to tell you about a set of thought provoking titles I love. While not LDS, these books manage to deal with serious issues in real world ways without being crude or offensive. Some of these are considered younger than YA, but I’m grouping all teen reads together here. (They’re not in any particular order, I’m just rambling) ;)
Rules by Cynthia Lord
This book deals with autism from the perspective of a teenage sibling rather than the parent. It’s fun, realistic, enlightening and uplifting.
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Another autism title from the sibling’s perspective, this one occurs in an era when autism was not understood or even remotely socially acceptable.
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
This has a little bit of language in it but it’s definitely controllable with your trusty marker. It tells the story of teen pregnancy and parenthood from the teenage father’s perspective. Aside from the obvious, it deals with very serious natural consequences. You get to see how the father mourns for the loss of his carefree life while still stepping up to the plate and sacrificing his desires to give his child the best he can. Yes, most boys never reach that marker of responsibility. This boy didn’t want to either, but he did.
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
What a sweet look at the mourning process.
Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
A heartwarming look at the grief and challenges of leukemia from the older brother’s view point.
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
This one does carry a black marker alert (for occasional use only) but if you’ve ever needed to understand the self-esteem issues associated with being overweight this is a good place to start. There is another issue going on here that is pretty serious as well—the older brother is accused of date rape. Unfortunately, both are far more common than my heart wants to admit but this book handles each with more tact and maturity than most of the very worldly YA books on the subject.
Other YA titles with lighter, but still great messages
Deliver Us from
Ah, bunnies and trying to figure out how to fit in. Kids can be very hard on each other, even cruel. Don’t we all wish we could fix (or escape) that sometimes?
It’s a Mall World After All by Janette Rallison.
Though most would consider this a lighter title, I have to include it because of the main character. Ok, she’s a bit of a flake (most teenagers are) but her basic personality is one who truly loves people. She wants to help and serve them any way she can, even when it’s not popular with her classmates.
The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
Here are four children who honor their handicapped teacher by winning academic contest.
Donuthead by Sue Stauffacher
Donuthead is one extremely serious and seriously funny little kid who learns to open his heart to an outcast and misunderstood classmate.
Death by Eggplant by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe.
I fell in love with this 8th grade boy who has eccentric parents and wants to be a chef. But, he’s is afraid of the criticism and alienation that might cause among his classmates.
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan.
The epitome of eccentricities surround this unschooling family as they invite a wayward and “troubled” teen to join their family and find his way into belonging. Their daughter also learns that unique and different can be a good thing and that everybody has value and a place in a family.
So there you have it, a completely random list of books for older children that I’ve loved reading. I’ll do a list for younger children on down the line, I promise. Right now I think it might be time for another run to the library. . . .
Return to the Neighborhood
