THE THIRD GIFT

Careful writing and beautiful illustrations relate the story of a boy who works with his father collecting ‘tears’ or tree sap. They sell their harvest of tears, which is actually myrrh, at the market to three magnificently robed men who are buying a gift for a baby. Linda Sue Park explains that this story came about because when she was a child she, like many, never knew what myrrh was. An abundance of Christmas books are published each year, but this one stands out as it tells the familiar story from a different perspective. Seven to Ten. Ruth Anne Champion