2021 Illumination Book Awards, Silver Medal: Holiday A familiar, beloved rhyme scheme paired with a fresh perspective on the Christmas story, The Shepherd’s Story provides readers with a profound experience alongside a courageous shepherd boy who is searching for meaning in life. Together with the shepherd, readers connect the birth of Christ with their own human experience, learning that one child—a single person—has the possibility of making an extraordinary difference in the world. In the loving arms of his parents, Jesus represents every newborn—and through the shepherd’s eyes, parents and children alike recognize Jesus’ promise of abundant life and infinite love. Come along with the curious young shepherd to explore the human and divine natures of the birth of Jesus—and through this shepherd’s witness, discover the wonder, majesty, and promise of all human life.

""A delightful and heart warming story about a boy named Thomas who lives in the town of Bethlehem. Thomas cleans the stable during the day, and in the evening is a shepherd boy. As the story unfolds, Thomas finds himself part of the wonderful and joyous first Christmas Night.""

The charming story of Ben, the son of a super shepherd, who lives just a couple of hills outside of Bethlehem. Ben is learning to be like his father, but because of his youth and schoolwork, he doesn't get to go out in the fields all that much. Some day, Ben may become a doctor, merchant, scribe, or a priest, but what he really wants to be is a good shepherd like his father.

A heart-warming and unique version of the Christmas story, perfect for young children

This is Reuel's big chance to prove that he can tend sheep just as well as his older brothers. All he has to do is keep a watchful eye on his little flock. But distracted by his brothers' teasing, he looks away just long enough for a little lamb to wander. Following a frantic search, Reuel finds his missing charge . . . and finds himself in the midst of the biggest announcement ever made. The Christ Child has been born, and Reuel is one of the first chosen to hear the news! After racing through the streets of Bethlehem, his misstep becomes a blessing when he encounters the Baby who will one day become the Shepherd of Men. This tale of the first Christmas, told from the viewpoint of a little boy to whom young readers will relate, is illustrated with gorgeous, detailed paintings by Carol Heyer. Her art showcase the sweetness of the child shepherd and the reverence of the story. Here is a book that both entertains and informs without ever straying from the meaning of the holiday.

A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana—the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film and the live musical on Fox. The holiday film A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family’s typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker’s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father’s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie’s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie’s unstoppable campaign to get Santa—or anyone else—to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid”? The pieces that comprise A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.

When a car almost runs over him in the middle of a snowstorm, ex-Navy SEAL Micah Richards knows he's hit rock bottom. After the deaths of several of his teammates, Micah is sure of two things: he only hurts those he tries to protect and their deaths are his fault. He has one family left on his list to pay his respects but stranded on the side of a mountain in the middle of the night, Micah has run low on options until Casey Stewart comes careening into his life.The last thing Casey wants is a man, especially one as charming and handsome as Micah who reminds her of her heartache from high school. And especially not when she has so much on her plate: kids trapped in the middle of bad neighborhood cycles at home and a sister who needs out from under their mother's roof. But helping is in her nature, and something about Micah makes her want to let him in. Now in the same city, Micah and Casey just can't seem to stay away from one another, despite Casey's best efforts. The more, he gets to know the community, the more he wants to stay. When a local drug dealer goes awry, Casey has only one person to turn to-the one who could hurt her heart the most. Micah must face the demons of his past to fight for his new team and new dream-a woman with the heart of a warrior who fights for others. A woman he would die for.