In the middle of all the hustle and bustle, the anxiety of trying to please everyone on my list and getting everything done in time it is often hard to remember what the point of it all is!   When that happens, I try to remember back to when I was a little girl and my mom would read me stores from the Ideals Christmas Stories That Never Grow Old.  Wonderful stories like O’Henry’s Gift of the Magi, or The Juggler of Notre Dame by Anatole France, were some of  what she shared with me, and my appreciation for the myriad ways the Christmas story could be told began there on her lap listening to her read. As I grew older I collected my own stories about Christmas and shared them with my own children.

It is strange how stories written for children are often the most profound and can somehow stop us in the middle of all of our busyness with their clear and true message- and of course beautiful illustrations don’t hurt either!

The Tree of Cranes is a about a little boy in Japan who experiences his first Christmas. Christmas is not a traditional holiday in Japan but his mother, who had lived in California before her marriage, still remembers the trees, the lights and the gifts gathered under the tree and in her own quiet way she shares that with her son so that he too can understand the gift that is Christmas.

Say’s simple and thoughtful words and beautiful illustrations make you slow down, and really experience again the wonder and magic of this time of year all over again!

Merry Christmas!

Brenda’s Rating: *****(5 Stars out of 5)

Recommend this book to: Everyone!

Book study worthy? Just Enjoy!

Read in hardback edition.