Your child loves getting presents.
You’re happy she always says, “Thank you,” but you’d like her to see how good it feels to give as well.
In the new book “Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift” by Dara Goldman, your child will learn that giving is sometimes better than receiving.
The city was a perfect place to live for Boris and Stella. Every day, Stella baked desserts at the bakery next door, and every night Boris went downstairs and played the piano, filling the air with the songs he learned growing up in Russia.
They didn’t have a lot of money, but they had each other, and that was enough.
Nearing Hanukkah, Stella shook her savings jar — and there wasn’t much in there. So she took her little pine tree, the one that came from her family’s farm in Italy, and she sold it to the owner of a local flower shop. That would give her enough coins to buy a dreidel for Boris.
Back home, Boris was thinking. Christmas was coming, and he wanted to give Stella something beautiful. But there wasn’t much in his savings jar, so he got an idea. He would sell his dreidel collection, the one that his parents gave him for Hanukkah when he was little. That would give him just enough to buy something “dazzling” for Stella’s little pine tree.
On the last night of Hanukkah, after lighting the candles of the menorah, Stella had a wonderful gift to give Boris. But before she could hand him the box Boris exclaimed — “Bozhe Moi!” — as he noticed something missing. And just after he opened her gift — “Mamma Mia!” — Stella noticed something missing, too.
So your Christmas tree is decorated with dreidels and gelt. Or your Hanukkah celebration includes candy canes and wreaths. Whatever holiday your family holds dear, “Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift” lives up to its perfect title.
Savvy adults may quickly notice something here, though: author-illustrator Dara Goldman drew from classic literature to convert this “Gift of the Magi”-like tale of love and sacrifice into something easier for smaller children to understand. Indeed, the adorable illustrations here are very kid-friendly, so if your child is too young to know the O. Henry story (or if you’re unfamiliar), that’s perfectly okay.
If the “ it’s better to give than receive” message is something your 4-to-8-year-old needs this holiday season, here’s a good start for teaching that lesson. For her, “Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift” is a book she’ll rrrrrrrrip into.
“Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift,” by Dara Goldman [32 pages, 2013, $15.99].
Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was 3 years old, and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill with two dogs and 12,000 books.
