Greater than Gold

My novella, "Greater than Gold," is a short, meaningful Christmas story, written for middle grade and up readers. Parents and grandparents who buy the book, will also enjoy reading this emotional story that revolves around two troubled boys and their two Christmases-Oscar in the present day, and Omar back in biblical time. A good description would be "The Polar Express" meets the "Book of Luke". After all, if a magic train ride can restore one boy's belief in Santa Claus, why can't an angel time-travel another boy back to Bethlehem, where he discovers the peace, joy (and danger!) of the very first Christmas? Twelve-year-old Oscar Olsen is missing his soldier Dad, and he wants nothing (repeat, nothing) to do with Christmas this year! He acts out his anger on his Mom, his friend, Melissa, and even the strange new kid in church, Albert. A young, inexperienced angel, still struggling to control her wings, appears in Oscar's bedroom. She whirls him back to 2,000 years ago, where he becomes Omar, an orphaned camel-boy, riding with three learned men. Omar is a brand-new person in the traditional nativity story, and he leads the reader to smell the stable, feel the camel's hair, and hear the bleating sheep. Young readers will be drawn into the boys' two parallel stories, told in alternating chapters. Without giving away the whole story, each chapter brings both boys closer to the great paradox of life-it is in giving, that we receive. Sacrifice is at the heart of both stories. Each chapter begins with an original drawing, further enhancing the story. Lots of cute picture books for little ones fill the bookstores at Christmas, but where is the book with deeper meaning for kids in the middle grades? This novella-length book can fill that gap. "Greater than Gold" is a fast-reading adventure story of camels and kings, deserts and Dads, and a slightly inept angel. The book makes a great stocking-stuffer gift that will enrich Christmas for young readers.