Jamie wins the coveted role of a shepherd in the school Christmas play. When a blizzard cancels the show he is heartbroken.

From the late Rebecca Caudill, author of "The Best-Loved Doll" and "Tree of Freedom", comes the heartrending story of a young Appalachian boy, born mute, who speaks for the first time ever to a young couple and their newborn baby, who have taken refuge from a blizzard in a nearby church. Full color. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Eager to play a shepherd in the Christmas pageant, a mute Appalachian boy is dismayed when a blizzard prevents the performance.

A dog, a goat, and their flock follow the sight and scent of a star in a beautifully illustrated, keenly observed Nativity story. The story begins on a cold upland pasture where coarse grass and scrub cedar grew. The hour was midnight. The day was the first of winter. And the year of our Lord was not 1900 or 1600 or even 100. It was 0. On that night a white goat, Ima, and a huge, gray short-haired sheepdog, Lila, were keeping watch over a small flock of young sheep. Bright and dazzling, a star appears behind the cedars on the eastern skyline. It is big and powerful, and it has a pure, clean scent, like something halfway between honey and water. Lila, the sheepdog, and Ima, the goat, are compelled to follow the star on a journey to a humble manger in Bethlehem, a journey beset with danger, adventure, and love. In a story alive with insight and grace, best-selling author Elizabeth Scott Thomas brings us a striking portrait of the Nativity story from the captivating point of the view of the animal kingdom.

Charley Cornett, a newcomer to the Little School in the Appalachian Mountains, is a dreamer and a curious soul who has his classmates wondering if he will ever be responsible enough to earn the honor of carrying the flag. Reprint.

When their mistress is murdered, Anouk and her fellow beasties have only three days until their enchantment ends and they are transformed back into animals, but in seeking to remain human, they threaten the hierarchy imposed by the society of magic handlers in Paris called the Haute.

According to the New York Times Book Review, there are a few secrets to a good Christmas story: It should have a meaning. It should include a dying child. It should make readers cry. Any promise is possible. It should be short enough to read in one sitting. Most important, it should tell a story. If these are what make a Christmas story good, Christmas in My Heart, A Second Treasury will bring you nonstop Christmas joy. From cover to cover, all fourteen of these stories represent the best in holiday memories. And in reading them, you are creating memories for years to come. Amid the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, decorating, concerts, and parties, it is sometimes easy to forget what makes this time of year so special. Nothing brings the real reason for Christmas into focus better than reading beloved stories that touch our hearts. And no one brings us those stories better than Joe Wheeler, whose Christmas in My Heart won the favor of loyal readers from coast to coast. In Christmas in My Heart, A Second Treasury, Wheeler works his magic once again, bringing the joy of Christmas alive for even those Scrooges among us. Its traditional and contemporary stories set this apart as a collector's item in the making--one destined to stand the test of time. Whether we are laughing with Miss Enderby in "Jolly Miss Enderby," crying with Dr. Loomis in "The Tiny Foot," or feeling the warm glow of happiness in "Christmas Is for Families," all of these wonderful stories bring us true peace. Whether you buy it because Joe Wheeler is so well known, or because the individual stories in this edition touch your heart, Christmas in My Heart, A Second Treasury is the best gift you can give anyone this Christmas, even yourself.