In the tale of Arthur, the Christmas Elf by Valerie
Connelly, two misguided children are reminded of the joy that Christmas
can bring to those with open hearts.
Angie
Smith has everything a girl could want and has begun to see the
traditions of the holidays more as a nuisance than a blessing. When she
informs her mother, Anna, that she would rather receive money than
gifts for Christmas, Anna becomes exasperated with her daughter's
attitude and begins to wonder when Angie lost her Christmas spirit.
Timothy Anderson has survived on second-hand clothes and toys
ever since his father died and left behind a family of six. Timothy's
grandmother moved in to help out, but her age and frailness prevent her
from being of much assistance any longer. Timothy works to help his
mother, Marie, support their family, which she finds difficult on the
wages she earns as housekeeper to the Smith family.
As a blizzard threatens to extinguish holiday celebrations,
Anna Smith and Marie Anderson find themselves stranded alone in Anna's
SUV, stuck in a snowdrift. As they wait for help and try to keep warm,
the two mothers discover they have more in common than they ever
imagined. Anna is alarmed by Angie's nonchalant dismissal of the
Christmas season and Marie worries over Timothy's growing hostility
toward any reminder of his poverty, Christmas being the most recent.
Meanwhile, Arthur the Christmas Elf, who is Santa's appointed
"Keeper of the Endangered Children List," has spotted Angie and Timothy
in his magical Christmas Globe. He is determined to delete the two
children from the Endangered Children List and restore their faith in
the holiday spirit. He sets off with his trusty reindeer, Snowflake, to
bring some warmth into the hearts of Angie and Timothy before it is too
late.
Connelly's story is meant to be shared as a family. Part of
Arthur's strategy for convincing the children is to provide them with
ideas of gifts they can make with their own hands for their loved ones.
The story is completed with detailed instructions for the reader on
constructing gifts like the ones Angie and Timothy made for their own
families. The tale, along with the craft instructions, contains coloful
illustrations to engage the reader. The crafts emphasize the meaning of
the story: that one does not have to lack money and possessions to be
poor, and Christmas is not about cherishing gifts, but the people
behind the gifts.
While the text of the story is written on a late elementary
school/middle school reading level, the message of the story and the
craft ideas are more appealing to younger children, which makes it even
more important that the book be shared as a family or group. Younger
children will enjoy the experience enthusiastically, as my own did, but
may become frustrated if they attempt to read the story on their own.
