Guest Author - Diana Pederson

TWO CHRISTMAS BOOKS

Do you still have last-minute gifts to buy this Christmas season? Here are two delightful Christmas tales, one for children, and one for adults. They may be just the present for that special person in your life.

When Mother was Eleven Foot Four: A Christmas Memory is a man’s memory of the Christmas of 1963. He grew up in a family of five plus three cousins. Christmas was always special. It included trees that were nearly 12 foot tall. He recalls the “snake room” where his mother hid their presents.

Unfortunately, a major change occurred in 1963. His cousins went home and his father left the family. This left their mother to try to handle everything on her own. The boys did chores for various neighbors and friends to earn some money for a Christmas tree, something that was well beyond their mother’s budget that year.

In the end, they learn why their mother always said she could be “eleven foot four tall” when necessary although she was really 4 foot eleven inches tall. This is a story to share with your children. Perhaps they will take a clue from the book and discover that gift giving is better than gift-getting!

Jerry Camer Hoggatt and Mark Elliott. When Mother was Eleven Foot Four: A Christmas Memory. Revell. 2007.

An Irish Christmas is a romantic story of lovers being separated and then found again. It opens shortly after Colleen’s husband has died. She is trying to move on. Her grown son, Jamie, has decided to join the military. Colleen knows that some long-hidden family secrets need to be revealed.

Her husband had insisted for twenty years that she not tell Jamie who his true father was—an Irish man that went into war but failed to return. Her husband simply refused to discuss the matter or even bring it up again. Jamie wanted to be a musician but his father absolutely refused to discuss it. They experienced much conflict over Jamie’s desired choice of major in college.

Now that he is gone, Colleen decides to take a last trip together with Jamie before he leaves for the military. They go to Ireland. While traveling she finally learns the truth about Jamie’s recent activities. He had been secretly studying music after dropping out of college (while still taking his father’s checks). Although Colleen was upset, she too had a secret that finally needs to be revealed.

The trip results in some wonderful changes in both Colleen and Jamie. Both Colleen and Jamie acquire life-changing news during their travels. Everyone that is a romantic at heart will love the ending of this story.

Melody Carlson. An Irish Christmas. Revell. 2007.