85 books like The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

A special story told (as Jez Alborough brilliantly does) in few words and with rhymes that read just right. A young dog called Sid is so filled with happiness that he flies! But he can’t convince anyone that this has happened. He’s laughed at. “…dogs don’t fly – it can’t be done,” says his teacher. “Dogs don’t fly!” repeat his friends. This leaves Sid alone and sad. But his father comes by. He asks what’s wrong, and it saves the day.

Sid’s dad believes in him. He understands Sid’s free spirit because he shares it. And these two things (literally) lift Sid up again. It’s a wonderful image of the magic a father-son bond can do.

It’s raining. Pete can’t go out to “play ball with the guys.” So he’s in a bad mood. His father thinks it might cheer Pete up to be made into a pizza. He’s right, of course! Dad kneads him and twirls him up in the air. He sprinkles on cheese (actually torn-up bits of paper) and puts him in the oven (actually the sofa).

This is a celebration of the parents’ trick of distracting a grumpy child with a bit of zany humour. (Best trick in the book, as far as I’m concerned.) And what a wonderfully loving, inventive, energetic dad William Steig has created! Pete laughs “like crazy”. And the sun comes out at the end.

One of many memorable picture books from a master of creating dads, mums, children, and all human beings. (Also fairies, in fact.) A family goes walking to a green hill in the city to celebrate baby Oscar’s “six-month birthday.” Bob Graham paints the world as a jumble of different lives, made beautiful by the warmth that can come between them.

In this story, there’s particular attention to moments of grace that children and parents can conjure up, if they want. I love the dirty old-town setting, with its colourful graffiti. And I like the spiky-haired dad. He makes the sandwiches. He gets on with the stuff of the family day. He does it with love. And he’s involved in one of my favourite of all picture book endings. When the kids are asleep, he pushes back the furniture and dances with Mum.

A brilliant book (who would dare publish this today?) by the author of the equally brilliant Ben’s Trumpet. In a South African township, some children expect their migrant-labourer fathers to arrive home after 10 months away. They wait, in a celebratory mood at first, but with increasing tiredness and uncertainty as the day and the night go by. They tell stories to stay awake. But the youngest falls asleep. A truck pulls up. It’s not their dads. Then the day dawns. And, with it, the fathers arrive.

There’s hardly any characterisation of the dads. They come to life through the children’s excitement and persistence. So does the deep emotion of an absent father returning. My boys have often chosen this book at bedtime. And they know it well enough to look up curiously when the dads arrive - to check if there are tears of happiness in my eyes.… show more.

In my teen years, I deemed Great Expectations by Charles Dickens as my favorite novel. In his day, the word “Dickensian” referred to the author’s unwieldy, verbose writing style. Now, the expanded meaning of a “Dickensian world” fills my mind with gloom, foreboding disaster, and eccentric characters that appear either heroic, naïve, or inherently evil.

Recently, I acted in a recording of A Christmas Carol and played all the female roles. The recording airs annually on EWTN Global Radio, so I’m not surprised that a friend gifted me with Samantha Silva’s audio book. But, to my surprise, I’m enchanted by the fictional account of how the novel evolved from its inception. It’s as if the author time-traveled to Dickens’ world and witnessed every scene firsthand! 

I could not think of a more suspenseful tale involving flight than this story. I wanted the pilot to make it home to England and read with my heart in my mouth how everything began to go wrong for him until the mysterious World War II bomber appeared–as either friend or enemy.

His characterizations are vividly drawn, as are the descriptions of the aircraft. This is one of Forsyth’s best books, in my opinion, and I like them all.

To say I enjoyed this is an understatement to the highest degree. From the first paragraph, Doyles' prose grabbed me, slapped me, and demanded to be appreciated. I laughed out loud, and I loved it. Doyles' ability to turn a phrase had me in love with his prose so much that I immediately ordered it in paperback for my shelf since I had originally purchased it as an eBook.

Speaking of "in love," that’s what happened as I got to know Dean and Ben. Two very different boys with two very similar problems – both liked boys, and neither was ready for that to be known.

Coming out stories aren’t new, but Simon Doyle makes it feel new for me with expertly drawn characters, tightly plotted storylines, and strong dialogue. I really loved getting to know Ben, Dean, and even the prick Alex in Snow Boys!

This book is based on one of my favourite movies. However, it takes its time to expand on the characters (delving into their feelings and motivations more). It’s a zombie story set at Christmas about a young girl who wants to break away from her life in Scotland. The zombies are second to the characters. Time is taken to explore Anna, her friends, and the eventual villain through flashbacks and their relationships.  As a Scotsman it’s nice to see a horror story set in Scotland, which is something I try to do with most of my horror books.

This book has everything I love in a Christmas romance—a delightfully competent heroine, a deliciously grumpy hero, a cast of eccentric characters, and themes of found family and healing.

Holly, a widow, takes a housesitting job during the holidays at a remote house on the Lancashire moors. But then people keep arriving, and Holly finds herself being guilt tripped into hosting Christmas. When Jude, the owner, is forced to return home, blizzards hit, and they’re all snowed in.

I felt for Holly and Jude who both had good reasons to avoid Christmas, but beneath their prickly exteriors they’re kind, big-hearted characters. It was a joy to see them rediscover the joy of the season. In turn hilarious and emotional, this is a big warm hug of a book.

In addition to providing an engaging and well-researched introduction to Krampus (the darkest winter holiday creature of them all), The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas is a wonderful exploration of a wide spectrum of delightfully sinister facets of European Christmas tradition. For centuries, grim entities have emerged from the Christmastime shadows to offer a counterbalance to the lightness and joy of the holiday season. Ridenour connects Krampus to this tradition by taking the reader on a thrilling journey to an old world seething with witches, ghosts, demons, and child-eating ghouls. This book provided invaluable context and detail as I crafted the monster-filled, festive and shadowy setting of my own book.