Christian Retailing

Enjoying the ‘timeless experience’ of Christmas Print Email
Written by Leslie Santamaria   
Monday, 08 July 2013 03:41 PM America/New_York

From novelty to nostalgia, a variety of new books celebrate the holiday’s true meaning

As retailers gear up for the critical holiday season, Christian publishers are making books available that foster nostalgia and illuminate the real hope that the birth of Christ brings.

Many of the holiday fiction titles are either historical, Amish or both, providing the sense of returning to simpler times. From Zondervan comes Tricia Goyer’s first Christmas novella, A Christmas Gift for Rose, which features a young Amish woman born in the midst of the Great Depression. 

Daisy Hutton, vice president and publisher of fiction at HarperCollins Christian Publishing, says readers enjoy stories about how Christmas was experienced in the past.

Our Christmas celebrations, Hutton said, “center around the retelling of stories from the past and the collective experience of the power of those stories in the current moment. This sense of continuity comforts us. … We look for those timeless experiences that make us feel a part of something larger, something timeless and eternal.”

In nonfiction, Ann Voskamp, best-selling author of One Thousand Gifts, takes readers back to the Old Testament to explore Jesus’ lineage in The Greatest Gift from Tyndale House Publishers. Using the Advent tradition of the Jesse Tree, Voskamp’s holiday book retraces the history of mankind paired with daily readings pointing to why Christ was born and why we celebrate His birth. 

Also reminding readers of the first Christmas story and the peace it offers the world is a gift book by Katherine Paterson, acclaimed author of Bridge to Terabithia and other novels, who twice won the National Book Award and twice the Newbury Medal. Published by Westminster John Knox Press, A Stubborn Sweetness and Other Stories for the Christmas Season is a collection of short stories Paterson originally wrote to be read during her church’s Christmas Eve service.

Stacie Kizer, marketing and publicity associate for the Presbyterian publishing company, explains that this is a different kind of Christmas book: “People from all walks of life are represented [in the collection] in a very relatable way. Each story, while not always resolved, leaves the reader with a feeling of comfort and encouragement in the midst of difficult circumstances.”

Following are a selection of this year’s Christmas book offerings:

CATHOLIC

AdventWithStFrancis
ADVENT WITH ST. FRANCIS
Diane M. Houdek 
Franciscan Media
9781616367053
$3.99, July 16

For daily reflection and application, Houdek pairs the Scripture readings for Advent with the words and deeds of St. Francis of Assisi to help readers grow in their faith and spiritual practice.

 

 

TheAdventOfChrist
THE ADVENT OF CHRIST
Edward Sri 
Servant Books (Franciscan Media)
9781616366513
$12.99, July 16

With entries for each day of Advent and through the Christmas season, this book of reflections guides readers through the treasures of the Gospels and takes a fresh look at the Christmas story.

 

 

 

CHILDREN’S

FantasticChristmasStable
FANTASTIC CHRISTMAS STABLE
Juliet David; illustrated by Steve Smallman
Candle Books (Kregel Publications)
9781859859506
$19.99, Sept. 1

This large hardcover book opens to display a full-color, 3-D nativity scene with opening flaps, pop-ups and press-out figures to add to the scene. A 16-page book telling the story of Jesus’ birth is also included.

 

ItsyBitsyChristmas
ITSY BITSY CHRISTMAS
Max Lucado; illustrated by Bruno Merz
Thomas Nelson
9781400322626
$14.99, Sept. 10

In this 32-page picture book, Lucado tells the story of two mice, Itsy and Bitsy, who hear that a King is coming to Bethlehem and set off to find him. Although they are told along the way that they are too little and unimportant for a king, they learn that Christ has come for everyone—big or small, young or old.

 

MyCarryAlongChristmas

 


MY CARRY-ALONG CHRISTMAS
Jocelyn Miller
Lion Children’s Books (Kregel Publications)
9780745964171
$9.99, Sept. 1

With a die-cut carry-along handle, this Advent activity book includes crafts, puzzles and stickers to keep kids busy.

 

 

PeaceOnEarth
PEACE ON EARTH: A CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
Mary Engelbreit
Zonderkidz (Zondervan)
9780310743408
$17.99, Oct. 1

Along with her engaging illustrations, Engelbreit celebrates the season with classic carols, poems and the story of Jesus’s birth.

 



ThePerfectChristmasPageant
THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS PAGEANT
Joyce Meyer; illustrated by Mary Sullivan
Zonderkidz (Zondervan)
9780310723547
$15.99, Sept. 24 

Meyer tells youngsters about the miracle of Christmas in this fourth installment of the “Everyday Zoo” series. Hayley Hippo and her quirky animal friends set out to put on an annual pageant, but learn that Christmas isn’t about glitz, but about Christ.

 

COOKBOOKS

TasteOfChristmasCB
TASTE OF CHRISTMAS COOKBOOKS
Rebecca Currington (Snapdragon Group)
Barbour Publishing
$4.99 each, September

Each paperback in this quartet of cookbooks contains recipes and holiday inspiration for bread lovers, chocolate lovers, cookie lovers and candy lovers, respectively. They include: Have Yourself a Toasty Little Christmas (9781624161346), I’m Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas (9781624161339), O Christmas Cookie (9781624161353) and Walkin’ in a Winter Candy-Land (9781624161360).

FICTION

AChristmasGiftForRose
A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR ROSE
Tricia Goyer
Zondervan
9780310336785
$15.99, Sept. 24

Inspired by a true story, Goyer’s first Christmas novella tells the story of Rose, born during the Great Depression and raised in an Amish family. When Rose learns she was born Englisch and was abandoned, she is filled with questions. 



 

APioneerChristmas
A PIONEER CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
Lauraine Snelling, et al. 
Barbour Publishing
9781624161902
$19.99, September

Set in the 1840s, the nine romances in this book are written by Christian fiction authors, including Lauraine Snelling, Kathleen Fuller and Vickie McDonough.

 

 

 

 

ASimpleChristmasWish
A SIMPLE CHRISTMAS WISH
Melody Carlson
Revell (Baker Publishing Group)
9780800719654
$15.99, Sept. 14

Rachel Milligan is caring for her 7-year-old niece, Holly, when Holly’s parents suddenly die. When an Amish relative is awarded guardianship, Rachel takes Holly to the Amish community to seek custody, but also encounters family secrets and experiences the healing of old wounds.



 

AnAmishFamilyChristmas
AN AMISH FAMILY CHRISTMAS
Murray Pura
Harvest House Publishers
9780736952378
$10.99, Oct. 1

When young Rebecca Shrock’s brother, Levi, returns from combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, things get complicated. Levi has been rejected by his old flame and shunned by the Amish community of Paradise for joining the military. As God works in hearts, will there be faith and reconciliation at holiday time?

 



AnniesChristmasWish
ANNIE’S CHRISTMAS WISH
Barbara Cameron
Abingdon Press
9781426733895
$14.99, October 

When Annie’s family takes her to New York City to experience English life and decide whether or not she will be baptized in the Amish faith, a young Amish man who has long been attracted to her grows concerned that she won’t return to their quieter life. Will Annie go home, or stay and pursue her dreams? This title is part of Cameron’s “Quilts of Lancaster County” series.

 

 

 

ChristmasAtHarmonyHill
CHRISTMAS AT HARMONY HILL
Ann H. Gabhart
Revell (Baker Publishing Group)
9780800719821
$15.99, Sept. 15

Fans of Gabhart’s Shaker stories will recognize Harmony Hill, where this tale is set in 1864. When Heather Worth discovers she is expecting while working as a laundress in her husband’s army unit, he insists she go home, where her father refuses to forgive her for marrying a Yankee. She retreats to a Shaker village where she and her aunt are in need of love and forgiveness as Christmas approaches.

 

 

TheChristmasQuilt
THE CHRISTMAS QUILT
Vannetta Chapman
Abingdon Press
9781426752773
$12.99, Oct. 15

Featuring Annie, from Chapman’s best-seller A Simple Amish Christmas, this contemporary romance follows Annie’s preparation of a crib quilt for her sister-in-law, who is expecting. When the baby arrives early, Annie discovers the quilt may hold more significance than she imagined. This book is part of the “Quilts of Love” series.

 



TheDawnofChristmas
THE DAWN OF CHRISTMAS
Cindy Woodsmall
WaterBrook Press
9780307732132
$14.99, Oct. 15

Sadie is pressured by her Old Order Amish family to settle down after four years of mission trips to Peru. She joins forces with Levi, a confirmed bachelor, to keep their families from meddling, only to discover that the walls they have built around their hearts are crumbling.

 

 

 

TwiceLoved
TWICE LOVED
Wanda E. Brunstetter
Barbour Publishing
9781624162671
$12.99, September

It’s Christmas 1945 when widow and single mother Bev Winters discovers unexpected kindness and romantic love. Also included are 1940s’ recipes, handcrafts, stories and trivia.

 

 

 

GIFT BOOKS

AStubbornSweetness
A STUBBORN SWEETNESS AND OTHER STORIES FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON
Katherine Paterson 
Westminster John Knox Press
9780664239152
$15, September

This compilation of stories is about realistic characters who have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas due to loss, pain or life circumstances. In unexpected ways, each realizes that even in darkness the joy of Christmas shines bright.

 

 

 

OnThisHolyNight
ON THIS HOLY NIGHT
Max Lucado, Rick Warren, David Jeremiah, John Maxwell, Jack Hayford, Bill Hybels
Thomas Nelson
9781400323456
$14.99, Oct. 8

Six well-known communicators explore various aspects of the Christmas story in this gift book.

 

 

 

SilentNight
SILENT NIGHT

Barbour Publishing
9781624162640
$7.99, September

In this full-color devotional gift book, readers learn the stories behind 40 Christmas carols.

 

 



NONFICTION

AdventAtoZ
ADVENT A TO Z
John Indermark and Sharon Harding
Abingdon Press
9781426760273
$11.99, September

This 26-day study is based on Advent-related words with each reading organized around a word that begins with a successive letter in the alphabet. Also included are discussion-starters, games, crafts, meditations and outreach projects.