THE GIFT OF THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE

It’s the Depression, and Jack and his mother struggle to get by in their small town. When Jack’s mother begins to bake cookies to give away to others, she explains the history behind the family’s wooden cookie molds and draws Jack into her baking. As they work together, she tells him the story of European woodcarvers and their families in the Middle Ages making cookies in shapes that could be used to tell the story of Christ’s birth. Jack’s only Christmas gift that year is a large angel cookie, which he then gives away to a stranger who arrives on Christmas morning. Jack offers the angel cookie to the man with a few concluding sentences that convey his beliefs, neatly echoing the Biblical concept that any stranger might be an angel and must be given hospitality. The tale is told in an understated way, complemented by Chabrian’s sensitive watercolor illustrations, which convey Jack’s range of emotions. (author’s note, cookie recipe) (Picture book. 5-9)