A CHRISTMAS FOR KATIE

The story of a precocious 6-year-old, Katie, whose Christmas wish list is not for toys and gifts for herself, but rather for good things to happen to people she cares about.

She also wishes for a newer, fresher Nativity scene to replace the cracking, peeling plastic figures outside the town library since, as she explains to the adults who question her, the Nativity scene is very important. As the story unfolds, the sad librarian who once dated and loved Katie’s older brother, only to be rejected by him when he decided he must marry within his Amish faith, finally finds true love and is able to forgive the man who broke her heart. After a bit of a scare, the wife of another of Katie’s older brothers delivers a healthy, happy baby that the couple decides to name in honor of Katie. The dilapidated Nativity figures begin to disappear somewhat mysteriously, but in the end, the whole town comes together in a live reenactment of the important Nativity scene just as Katie imagined and hoped that they would. The author was a schoolteacher before she started to write best-selling fiction, which probably explains why the character of Katie, while unusually precocious, comes across as credible. The adult characters are also believable and likable.

This brief novel is appropriate for children (as long as they are as precocious as Katie) as well as young adults and older adults intrigued by the often surprising wisdom and insight of young children.