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Summary
Summary
A heartfelt gift for every family, sure to be shared over and over each year.
Eight-year-old Tess is convinced this is the year she will finally meet Santa, and experience "the Christmas magic." She also wishes with all her heart that her best friend's ill father will recover. Tess' faith in the season results in a Christmas Eve so wondrous, so sparkling, readers won't be able to help but feel transformed. Like trimming the tree and "It's a Wonderful Life"; baking cookies and "White Christmas," ON CHRISTMAS EVE is sure to bring new holiday magic to readers' lives.
Author Notes
Jon J. Muth is a children's author and illustrator. His books have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. Stone Soup, a familiar tale set in China won a National Parenting Book Award.
Books he has illustrated include Come On, Rain!, which won the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators in 1999, Gershon's Monster, and No Dogs Allowed. Zen Shorts is a New York Times Bestseller, a Quill Award nominee, and was awarded the 2006 Caldecott Honor. Zen Ghosts was published in September 2010 by Scholastic Press. His title, Hi, Koo!, is a New York Times Bestseller for 2014 and was published by Scholastic Press, as well.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-Nine-year-old Tess believes in Santa-truly believes. And on Christmas Eve, she gets to see the magic: the animals talk and Santa, the real Santa, arrives. But will he save Tess's best friend's father from dying of cancer? Tess learns about magic, miracles, and the power of hope in a satisfying story that mostly avoids sentimentality and an excess of Christmas sparkle. A full-page, decorative black-and-white watercolor painting opens each chapter.-Susan Patron, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Martin (A Corner of the Universe) captures the essence of holiday magic, hope and disappointment in this poignant story set in the 1950s. Third-grader Tess McAlister is determined to meet the "real" Santa Claus ("not a department store Santa in a faded suit with a limp beard"). She wants to tell him an important message about what her best friend, Sarah, needs for Christmas: for Sarah's father, who has cancer, to get well. Although Tess's older sister can think of several reasons why Santa cannot possibly exist, Tess retains her faith and on Christmas Eve indeed witnesses miraculous events shortly after midnight. Without becoming overly sentimental, the author evokes the true Christmas spirit through her endearing narrator's efforts to keep hope alive. Offering a mix of sad and joyous events, this book will touch the hearts of believers and nonbelievers alike. Ages 9-12. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Christmas stories tend to be sentimental, and this one is no exception. Martin trims her "I-believe-in- Santa" tale with garlands of an unselfish wish, a friend's ill father and faith in the season. Third-grader Tess is convinced that this year (1938) she will meet the real Santa and experience "the Christmas magic." Instead of leaving him cookies, she buys him a gift of a snow globe and wishes that her best-friend Sarah's father could be home from the hospital for the holiday. Nostalgic and tender, by next Christmas Tess has come to realize that some gifts are not exactly the ones you ask for. This old-fashioned, Norman Rockwell image of a family Christmas reflects the time period, but who is the audience? Will today's eight- and nine-year-olds accept Tess's belief in Santa? The title, the appealing cover of the snow globe and Martin's name will sell this sentimental sleigh ride--most likely to grandparents. (Fiction. 8-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Even though Tess is eight, she still believes in Santa, and she's particularly anxious to see him this year because she has a special request. Her friend Sarah's father is ill with cancer, and Tess thinks Santa will work his magic to save him. Set in 1958, this story harkens back to a simpler time and captures the magic of belief. It is at its best when Tess (who sounds older than eight) describes her small-town life, punctuated by the activity of the holidays. The sadness Sarah is feeling is effectively portrayed, as are the musings about the mystical. But when Santa actually appears, the mix of the everyday and the supernatural seems strained. The story also moves in fits and starts: the first two-thirds of the book are expansive, but the rest seems cramped with a whole year's events. Yet despite problems with plotting and pacing, Martin's writing can be enticing, reaching out to readers. There are difficult as well as lovely things to think about here. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2006 Booklist
