The Christmas Stick (Paperback)

"One Christmas Eve in a far kingdom, the royal family gathered to open presents--which mainly meant watching the prince open his..." So begins a children's story about taking, but also giving--about stubbornness, but also a change of heart. The spoiled prince doesn't realize that he's actually bored with all the magnificent gifts he's given. And he carries a deeper sadness, one that would stay locked away, a secret even from him, if his wise grandmother hadn't understood that what he really needed was...a stick. "It was sturdy, and as long as he was tall. But it was just a stick." And yet this simple gift opens the prince to precious things. This children's picture book explores the power of imagination, the pleasure of doing, and eventually, the heart-soothing, joy-inducing warmth of not only being loved--but loving.