Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image

A Christmas Sonata

Author Gary Paulsen
Ebook
RH Childrens Books | Delacorte Press
On sale Oct 26, 2011 | 80 Pages | 9780307804273
Grades 4-7
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

A young boy and his mother spend Christmas 1943 with relatives in northern Minnesota while his father is fighting in the war in Europe.  They take a long journey by train to a snowy land of vast frozen lakes, deep and sparkling cold, and the most magical Christmas tree the boy has ever seen.  He knows this will be the last Christmas he will spend with his cousin, who is dying.  The boy's uncle overhears the two cousins say there is no Santa Claus, and in a grand gesture that is nothing short of a Christmas miracle, he restores the children's faith in the spirit of the season.
© Tim Keating
Gary Paulsen is the distinguished author of many critically acclaimed books for young people, including three Newbery Honor books: The Winter Room, Hatchet, and Dogsong. He won the Margaret A. Edwards Award given by the American Library Association for his lifetime achievement in young adult literature. Among his Random House books are Road Trip (written with his son, Jim Paulsen); Family Ties; Vote; Crush; Flat Broke; Liar, Liar; Paintings from the Cave; Woods Runner; Masters of Disaster; Lawn Boy; Notes from the Dog; The Amazing Life of Birds; Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day; How Angel Peterson Got His Name; Guts; and five books about Francis Tucket's adventures in the Old West. Gary Paulsen has also published fiction and nonfiction for adults. He divides his time between his home in Alaska, his ranch in New Mexico, and his sailboat on the Pacific Ocean. View titles by Gary Paulsen
"Don't worry about it--there is a Santa Claus if you want there to be a Santa Claus."

"There is?"

She nodded.  "That's how it works.  If you think hard about it and want it enough there will be a Santa."

I went back into Matthew's room and sat by his bed.  For a minute I thought he had gone to sleep and I looked at my coloring book and the picture of the pig and then Matthew moved.

"You're back."

"Mother says it's up to us if there's a Santa Claus or not."

"What do you mean?"

"She says if we want him, if we want him hard enough, there will be a Santa; and if we don't want him there won't be one."

He didn't say anything for a long time, and I thought he was thinking of something smart to say and that maybe he was going to swear.  I thought if he swore about Mother I would leave the room again and not come back, and I didn't care if he was sick and dying or not, but he didn't.

He didn't say anything about Mother, and he didn't swear.

He looked at me, right into my eyes, and he said, "I want him to be."

And I said, "I want him to be too."

And he said, "No.  I mean I want him to be, more than anything else in the whole world, more than all the things I've ever wanted, more than I want to live, I want him to be."
Copyright © 1992 by Gary Paulsen <br> Illustrated by Leslie Bowman. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
"A holiday heartwarmer that will appeal to a wide audience."
--Kirkus Reviews

About

A young boy and his mother spend Christmas 1943 with relatives in northern Minnesota while his father is fighting in the war in Europe.  They take a long journey by train to a snowy land of vast frozen lakes, deep and sparkling cold, and the most magical Christmas tree the boy has ever seen.  He knows this will be the last Christmas he will spend with his cousin, who is dying.  The boy's uncle overhears the two cousins say there is no Santa Claus, and in a grand gesture that is nothing short of a Christmas miracle, he restores the children's faith in the spirit of the season.

Author

© Tim Keating
Gary Paulsen is the distinguished author of many critically acclaimed books for young people, including three Newbery Honor books: The Winter Room, Hatchet, and Dogsong. He won the Margaret A. Edwards Award given by the American Library Association for his lifetime achievement in young adult literature. Among his Random House books are Road Trip (written with his son, Jim Paulsen); Family Ties; Vote; Crush; Flat Broke; Liar, Liar; Paintings from the Cave; Woods Runner; Masters of Disaster; Lawn Boy; Notes from the Dog; The Amazing Life of Birds; Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day; How Angel Peterson Got His Name; Guts; and five books about Francis Tucket's adventures in the Old West. Gary Paulsen has also published fiction and nonfiction for adults. He divides his time between his home in Alaska, his ranch in New Mexico, and his sailboat on the Pacific Ocean. View titles by Gary Paulsen

Excerpt

"Don't worry about it--there is a Santa Claus if you want there to be a Santa Claus."

"There is?"

She nodded.  "That's how it works.  If you think hard about it and want it enough there will be a Santa."

I went back into Matthew's room and sat by his bed.  For a minute I thought he had gone to sleep and I looked at my coloring book and the picture of the pig and then Matthew moved.

"You're back."

"Mother says it's up to us if there's a Santa Claus or not."

"What do you mean?"

"She says if we want him, if we want him hard enough, there will be a Santa; and if we don't want him there won't be one."

He didn't say anything for a long time, and I thought he was thinking of something smart to say and that maybe he was going to swear.  I thought if he swore about Mother I would leave the room again and not come back, and I didn't care if he was sick and dying or not, but he didn't.

He didn't say anything about Mother, and he didn't swear.

He looked at me, right into my eyes, and he said, "I want him to be."

And I said, "I want him to be too."

And he said, "No.  I mean I want him to be, more than anything else in the whole world, more than all the things I've ever wanted, more than I want to live, I want him to be."
Copyright © 1992 by Gary Paulsen <br> Illustrated by Leslie Bowman. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Praise

"A holiday heartwarmer that will appeal to a wide audience."
--Kirkus Reviews

Other Books by this Author

Related Articles

Social Studies & History English Language Arts

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Join us this month and beyond to celebrate the cultures and contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Browse a curated selection of fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators that we are sure your students will love. Find our collections of titles here: Elementary

Read more

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Social Studies & History English Language Arts
General Education & Professional Learning

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

General Education & Professional Learning
Social Studies & History Math The Arts General Early Concepts Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series Science & Technology

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

Social Studies & History Math The Arts General Early Concepts Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series Science & Technology
DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request
General Publisher's Spotlight English Language Arts

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

General Publisher's Spotlight English Language Arts
education translanguaging collections affirming bilingual and multilingual learners
General Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series The Arts

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

General Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series The Arts

Penguin Random House Elementary Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)