Review: The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne

So, with the craziness of everything, December has been a bad month for blogging for me. Sorry! Anyhow, I know it's already after Christmas, but I'm still in the Christmas spirit, and since I didn't get the opportunity to post at least one Christmas review before Christmas, it's happening now. Enjoy!

Title: The Paper Bag Christmas

Author: Kevin Alan Milne

Rating:

Who Should Read It?
All lovers of Christmas! This story is adorable, heart-warming, and Christmas perfect!

What I Have to Say:
This is one of those stories that is meant to be read while holding a steaming mug of hot chocolate and curled up on a comfortable couch in front of the fireplace.

Mo(lar) and Aaron Alan are two ordinary boys who, thanks to a little trick played by their father, which starts with them deflating the legs of an apparently legless father and ends with them volunteering in the children's ward of a hospital for the Christmas season, have the opportunity to experience their first "real" Christmas at a very young age. They learn to see past the commercialization (don't we all need to do that) and discover the true spirit of Christmas, of giving, of love, and of acceptance.

Both Alan and Molar are charged with befriending some of the more difficult patients, and their charges end up touching their lives in an extraordinary way, as was forseen by Dr. Ringle. Dr. Ringle is the doctor in the children's ward, and if you ask me, there's no doubt in my mind that he's the real Santa Clause. What's so beautiful about this story, though, is that as the children grow and begin to learn the true spirit of Christmas, they help the patients learn to accept their terminal illnesses and see that, no matter what your position in life, friendship is priceless.

It's hard to say more about the book than that without giving anything away. This is a short, cute book that really helps the reader to remember the importance of Christmas and the joy of giving while expecting nothing in return. It reminds us, as cheesy as this is to say, of the true Spirit of Christmas. If you love Christmas, read this - I promise you won't be disappointed.

Summary:Dr. Christopher Ringle is the last person you'd expect to find moonlighting as Santa Claus at the mall on the day after Thanksgiving. But it is there that he meets a young man named Molar Alan, who desperately needs a new perspective on the underlying value of Christmas. Dr. Ringle recruits Mo and his older brother as volunteers at a nearby children's hospital for the holiday season. At the hospital, Mo is tasked to help bring holiday cheer to the young cancer patients on the fifth floor. His biggest challenge is befriending a decidedly angry girl who is so embarrassed by her scarred appearance that she hides her face behind the safety of a paper bag. Almost in spite of himself, Mo finds that Christmas joy emanates from a source far greater than the North Pole, while the young girl learns that she is more beautiful than she had ever imagined.

Cover Story: The cover of the book that I read, which is the small Amazon one by the summary, is adorable. It's so Christmasy and wonderful and fits the book perfectly. The other one I find to be a bit plain.