Christmas Letters

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Katherine O'Connor often spends her days at a cozy café on Blossom Street in Seattle—where she writes Christmas letters for other people. She's good at making their everyday lives sound more interesting. More humorous. More dramatic.But for Dr. Wynn Jeffries, who also frequents the café, Christmas means lies and deception. In fact, the renowned child psychologist recommends that parents "bury Santa under the sleigh." Katherine, however, feels that his parenting philosophy is one big mistake—at least, based on her five-year-old twin nieces, who are being raised according to his "Free Child" methods.She argues with Wynn about his theories, while he argues that her letters are nothing but lies. They disagree about practically everything—and yet, somehow, they don't really want to stop arguing.As the days—and nights—move closer to Christmas, Katherine and Wynn both discover that love means accepting your differences. And Christmas is about the things you share....From Publishers WeeklyKatherine O'Connor, a Seattle medical transcriptionist, has a booming sideline business, writing other people's Christmas letters. A run-in with Dr. Wynn Jeffries, however,ruins her holiday cheer. Katherine's sister is a devotee of Jeffries's Free Child movement, advocating "no boundaries for kids," a technique that has turned Katherine's into terrors. Jeffries just happens to live in Katherine's building, and their debate over parenting technique turns predictably, if perplexingly, to lust. Sticky with sentimentality, Macomber's latest is a fine companion to a glass of eggnog, but don't expect sustenance. (Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistSimilar in format to Keys to the Imagination [BKL F 1 06], a previous StoryWatchers Club episode, this title features Christmas stories. Kevin Condi relays the story of Marie in "A Gift for Santa," and Christine Petrell Kallevig uses paper folding to enhance "Home for Christmas," a nineteenth-century immigrant tale of unselfishness. Mary Jo Huff humorously relays that Santa is under the weather in "Christmas Is Cancelled," while Michael R. Kasony-O'Malley concludes with a recitation of "The Christmas Fairy of Strasburg," a participation tale that takes an original view of the first Christmas tree. A multicultural group of puppet friends leads viewers into the stories and helps segue into the next tale. There are some studio-audience shots, but the main focus is on the storytellers. Suggested for holiday and storytelling collections. John CharlesCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved