Have you Seen Christmas?
Title: Have you Seen Christmas?
Author: Vicki Howie
Illustrator: Caroline Pedler
Publisher: Anno Domini
ISBN: 0-687-49678-0
Audience: Older Elementary, Youth, Adults
Summary: This is a story about a homeless boy who has a dog named Christmas. One day Luke woke up and Christmas was missing. His friends Benny and Mia go and look for Christmas. As Benny and Mia asked people if they had seen Christmas, they pointed them to busy stores, the toy department, the City Square and to a big Christmas tree. A friend helps looks for missing Christmas. They went to look at a church. Among tables with food and people gathered around, there sat Christmas! They gathered around and heard the story of Mary and Joseph and no room in the inn. Benny and Mia invited Luke to their house for Christmas. Luke’s words: “I found Christmas today…I was cold and hungry and miserable, but the people in the church gave me dry, warm clothes and hot food to eat. I lost my dog and had nowhere to go, but you helped me find him and are letting me come home with you. You’ve all made me feel that someone cares about me. We were all looking for Christmas – but it’s right here!”
Literary Elements:
- Genre: Short story
- Setting: Snowy, cold night/day before Christmas eve
- Perspective: viewpoint of homeless friend looking for “Christmas”
Theological Conversation Partners: What does church look like? Where do we find Christmas? Like Mary and Joseph expecting a child and no room in the inn, we find our homeless friend Luke cold and without shelter in search for his dog “Christmas” and then he truly finds Christmas through church. There is indeed a place at the table for everyone! All are welcome!
Faith Talk Questions:
- Who do you relate to in this story this Christmas? Bennie and Mia, Luke, the security guard, Jamie? And why?
- What does Church look like in this children’s book?
- How does Luke understand Christmas at the end of the story?
- How can you share Christmas with another person this Christmas?
This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Neeley Lane.
Have you Seen Christmas? by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
