Tim’s Magic Christmas, by Melanie Robertson-King, is a heartfelt story about a young boy who feels he’s a burden to his struggling family. His parents are fighting, money is tight. Things are not good. Tim feels certain he is not going to get the Apple iPod he so desperately wanted for Christmas. He believes everybody would be better off if he ran away from home, so he takes the little money he has out of his piggy bank and catches a train to anywhere. What happens next is magical.
Lessons abound in this sweet book. The lessons are not only for children, they are for parents, too. Kids are more aware than parents often realize. They hear parents arguing, they feel the tension. Talk to them and let them know what’s going on in a way that is developmentally appropriate. They are part of the family and should not be left in the dark.
Of course, there are lessons for kids as well in this magical story. Kids need to talk to their parents, too. Trust your parents to be there for you. Share your fears with them. Running away will not solve anything. Although, in this case, a miracle happened.
The last and most prevalent lesson is that giving is better than receiving. It’s not about how much you have, but about how much you give to others, and when you give to others, you get back so much more than you ever bargained for. Tim learned that the iPod he wanted was nothing compared to how good it felt to give to those who had so much less. Shawn Marie Simon
Christmas, that magical time of the year when children make their “wish” list for the gifts they hope to find under their trees. Sometimes, however, a child’s wishes may not be answered in the way he or she had hoped, but perhaps in an even better way.
In TIM’S MAGIC CHRISTMAS, Author Melanie Robertson-King’s new story for children, the holidays are fast approaching, and Tim Frost wants an iPod for Christmas. There’s one problem. His father has lost his job and money is scarce. His parents can barely pay the bills and buy groceries, much less buy expensive gifts for their children. So, Tim, thinking like a sixth-grader how he can help his family in these tough times, decides to take the $35 and change he’s saved and run away from home. Without him, his parents will have one less mouth to feed.
Little does Tim know the surprises that await him when he rides the bus away from his hometown. The places he goes and the people he meets give Tim a new understanding of the true magic of Christmas. Melanie Robertson-King has written a beautiful story about giving and sharing and discovering what’s truly important in life. I recommend this story for school libraries, public libraries, and your own private library. It will renew your faith and hope in our world and the gentle people in it. Beverly Stowe McClure
Sixth-grader, Tim Frost doesn’t realize how much his family loves him. He wants an expensive gift for Christmas and runs away when his family has a money shortage at Christmas. He takes a bus to the big city of Toronto and almost gets run over. Willing to wash dishes for food, he learns from a trucker how worried his parents must be. When a trucker shows him how he can help the homeless and hungry in his hometown, Tim goes back home, content not to have an expensive iPod for Christmas. He learns that the real joy of Christmas is in giving.
The author keeps the readers wondering if Tim could survive in the city and if he would decide to go back home. I kept wondering what I would do if I was in Tim’s shoes. Joan Y Edwards
Tim’s Magic Christmas is a heart-warming tale of a boy who uses his six-grade wisdom to solve his family’s financial problems. It is a Christmas he’ll never forget. This book is appropriate for any child old enough to read a chapter book. The author teaches a lesson without hitting the child over the head. I found it easy to follow and typical of what my thirteen-year-old grandson might come up with. King’s main character enchants the reader. A fresh perspective for a wonderful holiday. Janet K Brown
Available for the Kindle at amazon.