A couple of weeks ago I received a special book in the mail. I mentioned it in my post: Saturday Book Acquisitions

Today I sat down and read Christmas at a Grand Hotel by Wini Frances.

The book is about two mice, Charlie and Sam, who live in a Grand Hotel. The story begins with Sam accidentally getting caught on a bag and carried through the hotel. His older brother Charlie chases after him to try and rescue him.

The mice end up at a live nativity scene where Sam was able to free himself from the bag.

There is a donkey at the nativity scene that plays a small role in the story. It made me think of this donkey that I saw in Israel last year.

The author uses the setting of the nativity scene to tell the story of the true meaning of the birth of Jesus.

I really enjoyed reading the book and would encourage you to get a copy of the book to read to your children.

You will also enjoy the nice illustrations by David Miles.

The book is available from Amazon using the following link:

Christmas at a Grand Hotel

Wini Frances is a good family friend and our families have had a close connection for many years.

Her parents were members of the first church my Grandpa preached at in Iowa.

Wini is a retired school teacher and is married to a preacher. Exactly the same as my parents.

Wini’s husband was the best man in my parent’s wedding 50 years ago and she was one of the candle-lighters.

In the author bio it mentions that Wini grew up with a storytelling father. I have great memories of visiting her parents and remember some of the stories that he would tell. He was a great storyteller.

My mind has wandered way down memory lane. I could share many more memories, but that is not the focus of this post 🙂

Thank you Wini for a great story,

Steven

p.s. The building in the nativity scene above was built with the same blocks as the partially finished building below.