Title: The Spirit of Christmas, Stories of The Season

Author: Jennie Hansen, Betsy Brannon Green, and Michele Ashman Bell

Publisher: Covenant Communications

Genre: Fiction

Year Published: 2008

Number of Pages: 140

Binding: Paperback

ISBN-10: 1-59811-581-2

ISBN-13: 978-1-59811-581-9

Price: $7.95

Reviewed by Jaymie Reynolds

The Spirit of Christmas, Stories of The Season is a short book

containing three short tales of Christmas. The authors, Jennie Hansen,

Betsy Brannon Green, and Michele Ashman Bell, each take very different

approaches in their stories.

The Best Christmas Ever by Jennie Hansen is set in the little town of

Arco, Idaho at the conclusion of World War II. Five year old Janie is

thrilled when she hears that Santa is going to come to town riding on

the local fire truck. This determined little girl just knows that this

is going to be the best Christmas ever. Santa's visit will be just the

beginning. Janie continues in her optimism until her brothers' teasing

combines with the fact that her sack from Santa contains only an apple

instead of the orange that her siblings receive. At this point, poor

little Janie begins to wonder if her brothers are correct. Will

Christmas really be canceled because Janie has been naughty this year?

She has tried so hard to be good but she cannot let the worry go. Will

her family really lose Christmas because of her?

In The Haggerty Christmas Miracle by Betsy Brannon Green, Eugenia Atkins

is the local do-gooder. Although she is sometimes brusque and the

recipients of her kindness (read nosyness) are not always as excited as

she is, Eugenia's heart is in the right place and she truly longs to

help. When she sets out to provide a struggling young family with the

most amazing Christmas that they have yet had, she arranges a new roof,

gifts, a tree with all of the trimmings, and even a new minivan for

these deserving recipients. By this time the entire town is involved and

is enjoying their own impromptu parade to the Carter family's home. As

the town is marching with joy at their miracle, Eugenia is taught a

lesson that will change her own perspective on the holiday season. With

the help of her friends and family, she is able to avert the calamity

that could easily have been provoked by her interferance. In the end,

the town of Haggerty gets its miracle and Eugenia finds the spirit of

Christmas more abundantly in her own life

A Port In The Storm by Michele Ashman Bell is the tale of a lonely young

woman named Sophie. Because of tragic occurences in her own life in

years past, Sophie is determined to spend Christmas on her own. She

travels to a quaint bed and breakfast. While her initial instinct is to

bury Christmas and treat it as any other day, she soon finds her life

intertwined with the sweet couple who runs the inn that she is staying

at. Sophie finds herself enjoying her stay. As she is walking along the

local beach, she comes across an old bottle with a long forgotten

message in it. Sophie finds new purpose in trying to track down the

individuals for whom this message was meant. As she takes on this quest,

Sophie also finds the keys to healing her own broken heart.

This book is a very quick read. Each of these stories flows very

smoothly. Because each author has taken a different direction, this book

has a wide range of appeal. The stories included are very religiously

neutral. The one story that includes mention of the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints includes people of all faiths working

together to create a Christmas miracle. Because of this, this book can

be enjoyed by people of all faiths. While this book really is not

focused on the birth of Jesus Christ, it does a fine job of capturing

the feel of the Christmas season. This book can appeal to those who are

not inclined to focus on the religious aspect of this season but still

seek to focus on the feeling of giving and love that can come with this

time of year. At $7.95 it is a reasonably inexpensive gift for the

reader who loves all things Christmas.