Rachel Milligan is caring for her seven-year-old niece, Holly, at her home in Chicago when she receives devastating news: Holly's parents have been killed in a plane crash. Because Rachel is Holly's only known relative, she assumes that she will be her beloved niece's guardian. However, custody is awarded to Lydia, a distant aunt who happens to be Amish. Just a week before Christmas, Rachel takes Holly to the Amish community in the hopes of persuading Aunt Lydia to relinquish custody. Instead, Lydia sets out to teach Holly to live according to the Amish way. As family secrets emerge and old wounds are healed, Rachel realizes that she will do whatever it takes to ensure that Holly has the loving family she needs. Combining an Amish family saga with the anticipation of Christmas cheer and the promise of a budding romance, this newest Christmas story from beloved author Melody Carlson is sure to please.

Told in rhyming text, a group of excited children prepares for a special Christmas, spreading cheer as they decorate the tree and play in the snow with their friends while waiting for Santa.

From the pen of bestselling Amish fiction author Jerry Eicher, (more than 350,000 books sold), comes a truly delightful and inspiring Christmas novella. Fans will be delighted by this peek at an Amish Christmas, complete with the romantic wish of Susanna Byler to spend the holidays with the man of her dreams. But who is the man of her dreams? Is it the competent but plain Amishman she married for convenience....or is it her first love—an Englisha man with whom she has recently had an unexpected encounter—and who wants her back in his life? A perfect holiday delight for lovers of Amish fiction...and those who love a heartwarming and tender Christmas tale.

Celebrate the season with this New York Times bestselling wintry tale that will have readers of all ages believing in the magic of Christmas. This is one to pull out every year and savor all winter long! In the merry tradition of classics like The Polar Express, this special picture book captures the holiday spirit. This is a timeless classic one to reread every year and savor all winter long! Long ago, a brave little girl named Anja wanted to be one of Santa's elves.So she leaves a note for her family and helps her elderly neighbor prepare for the holiday, then she straps on her skis, and heads out into the snowy landscape. From a red bird to a polar bear to a reindeer, a menagerie of winter animals help Anja make her way to Santa. A generous trim-size, matte cover, extraordinary photographs, and foiled title make this a special book for the holiday season. And don't miss the other "Wish" books: The Reindeer Wish The Tiny Wish The Brave Little Puppy The Puppy's Wish The Polar Bear Wish

Ever since her step-mom brought her a snow globe of the New York City skyline, Annie has wanted to visit the beautiful, big city. Since it's nearing the time of Annie's rumschpringe—the time when Amish youth experience Englisch life to make a decision whether to live in that world or become baptized into the Amish faith—the family decides a visit is a good idea. They watch the Macy's Christmas parade, admire the decorated store windows, skate at the Rockefeller Center rink and— Annie's favorite—get a glimpse of a writer's life while visiting the New York Times building. But others aren't as thrilled with Annie's lure to the Big Apple. Aaron has long been attracted to Annie and is sure he's in love. As he watches her engage in big city life, he grows concerned that she won't want to return to their quieter life. Will Annie follow Aaron back home? Or stay and pursue her dreams? Competing for her attention, Aaron sets out to show Annie that Christmas isn't about the glitz and glamour, but about family, love, and the birth of Jesus.

It is Pocket's first Christmas. When he goes out into the snow to play with his brothers and sisters, he discovers a sparkling snow angel. It has been left by some children and their footprints wind away from the snow angel's skirt. Pocket asks the snow angel if she knows the meaning of Christmas but, of course, she does not answer. So Pocket decides that if he follows the footprints, they will surely lead him to discover the meaning of Christmas and he hops off. As Pocket followsthe footprints his senses are filled with cheer-seeing his happy brothers and sisters playing on the frozen pond, hearing a little bird's joyful song, smelling the fresh wintry scent in the air, tasting the cold snowflakes on his tongue, feeling soft pine needles under his paws-but it is only when hereaches the children's cottage, and a carrot is placed on the doorstep for him, that he comes to an understanding of the meaning of Christmas. For, in sharing the carrot with a hungry wood mouse, Pocket knows the gift of giving.This is a gentle story that captures the real spirit of Christmas and celebrates those sentiments cherished by readers of all ages, particularly during the festive season.

Even well-meaning fiction writers of the late Jim Crow era (1900-1955) perpetuated racial stereotypes in their depiction of black characters. From 1918 to 1952, Octavus Roy Cohen turned out a remarkable 360 short stories featuring Florian Slappey and the schemers, romancers and ditzes of Birmingham's Darktown for The Saturday Evening Post and other publications. Cohen said, "I received a great deal of mail from Negroes and I have never found any resentment from a one of them." The black readership had to be satisfied with any black presence in the popular literature of the day. The best known white writers of black characters included Booth Tarkington (Herman and Verman in the Penrod books), Irvin S. Cobb (Judge Priest's houseman Jeff Poindexter), Roark Bradford (Widow Duck, the plantation matriarch), Hugh Wiley (Wildcat Marsden, the war veteran who traveled the country in the company of his goat) and Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden (radio's Amos 'n' Andy). These writers deservedly declined in the civil rights era, but left a curious legacy that deserves examination. This book, focusing on authors of series fiction and particularly of humorous stories, profiles 29 writers and their black characters in detail, with brief entries covering 72 others.