A Christmas Book for Next Year: Winter's Gift by Jane Monroe Donovan

Winter's Gift is a love story of sorts. Published in 2004, this book was written and illustrated by Jane Monroe Donovan.

The story begins on Christmas Eve when a huge blizzard has hit the small town. An old man awakes with more aches and pains then normal. As he works to chop and gather wood, he thinks of Christmases past and misses his wife more than ever. She died in the spring. He thinks about how they would decorate the tree and his wife would say, "The star is the most important part of the tree. It's a symbol of hope, and no matter how bad things get, you should always have hope."

"But the old man didn't have hope anymore. This year there would be no Christmas tree, no Christmas star."

Nature has other plans for him because a wild horse is wandering in the blizzard, cold, alone, frightened, and ready to collapse.

This mare brings hope to the old farmer in this heartwarming story that shows that we can go forward even when we think all is lost.

Blurb from Barnes and Noble: It may be Christmastime but on a small farm the holiday season is best forgotten, along with painful memories of loved ones lost. Mother Nature has other plans, however, and a chance snowstorm brings together two unlikely hearts, one human and one beast, yet both yearning for comfort, companionship, and that most elusive gift of all, hope. This lustrous jewel of a story, quietly told and perfectly complemented by soft, evocative paintings, reminds even the most cynical of readers that the heart indeed can recover and go on.

Alysen, this book will make you cry. You've been warned, but read it anyway.