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Book Reviews of The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1)

The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1)
The Christmas Box - Christmas Box, Bk 1
Author: Richard Paul Evans
ISBN-13: 9781566840286
ISBN-10: 1566840287
Publication Date: 5/1993
Pages: 87
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 100

3.9 stars, based on 100 ratings
Publisher: Publishers Inc
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

43 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 23 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
From Publishers Weekly
Self-published in paperback during the Christmas season 1994, Evans's first novel quickly gained national media attention. Now the cleverly told tale, which the author reputedly wrote for his daughters and which revels in sentimentality, is available in hardcover. The story relates how a young couple, Richard (who narrates) and Keri, accept a position to care for a lonely widow, Mary Parkin, in her spacious Victorian mansion. As Christmas draws near, Mary becomes anxious about Richard's obsession with success and his failure to make time for his family. She urges him to reconsider his priorities, but he is always too busy to heed her advice. It is only when Mary is on her deathbed and her secret sorrow is revealed through the letter-laden Christmas box of the title that Richard realizes what she has been trying to tell him. The message concerns love, of course, and the strings Evans pulls to vivify it should squeeze sobs from even the stoniest of hearts. It's notable, however, that unlike many well-known Christmas tales (such as Dickens's), which carry that message in a basically nonsectarian manner, this is steeped in specific Christian imagery and belief as the author draws on the drama of Jesus as God's sacrifice for the world's sins, and of his crucifixion and resurrection.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Well what can I say , this is my favorite author and the Christmas box trilogy is my favorite of all his books! He has a great way with words and describing the people and places in his books.
coinco avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Surprised it is categorized as a children's book... this is an incredible story that has inspired the creation of the Christmas Box Angel Statue. A lovely Christmas story!!
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 330 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Rick, Keri, and their 4-year-old daughter, Jenna, respond to an advertisement written by an elderly woman who is looking for a couple to work as caretakers and companions just before the holiday season. While moving in, Rick finds an old box that he is drawn to and one evening hears music coming from the box. When he opens it, he finds old letters that stirs his curiosity. That combined with reoccurring dreams of angels and Mary questioning what the first true gift of Christmas was, lead the reader on a wonderful journey of the joys and the true meaning of Christmas. And how if we get too drawn up in our own lives, we miss out on the lives around us.
Amazon: A Christmas Gift
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Emotional story about what is important in life, with a Christian tie-in though the universal message of love and the importance of spending time with one's own family reach beyond the confines of religion. Easy, simple read, nice message, if overly emotional for some people.
VeronicaNagy avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 48 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is a wonderful book to read to the family over the holidays. It only takes about an 1 hour to read out loud and has a wonderful story line and puts everyone into the Christmas Spirit.
FamFatale avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 369 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Charming - a heart warming read.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 45 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A moving, feel-good story.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 39 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A book that reminds you what Christmas is really about. A touching story about a widow and a young family who moves in with her.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Heart warming. A treasure. Good for giving. Good for keeping.
sherrie824 avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 57 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was really a quick and easy read. The story is tear-jerking but beautiful...full of love, compassion and real life situations as far as raising kids, making ends meet, busy schedules and getting older. I really enjoyed it.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
This is a wonderful heartwarming story it brought me to tears.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 130 more book reviews
too sentimental for my taste, but a sweet book
bookaholic avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 56 more book reviews
A touching Christmas classic that you will love!
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 254 more book reviews
Beautiful story.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on
Cute story.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
A touching story of a widow and young family who moves in with her. Together they discover the gift of Christmas
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 40 more book reviews
wonderful holiday story.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 496 more book reviews
A touching story of love and loss.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
I love this book! I've read it several times. It never gets old or boring to me
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 3352 more book reviews
A modern classic - wonderful Christmas story
cmj53 avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on
This book is absolutely amazing! I can genuinely say that it touched my life and changed me forever. It was a nice, short easy read, too, and could certainly be enjoyed any time of the year! It's a magical story that will touch your life.
favoritern avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 55 more book reviews
This was a good short story. I cried a little, too. Puts things back into perspective.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 3 more book reviews
Beautifully written book written by a father to show his love for his 2 daughters. A great Christmas Classic! Loved the book!
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 60 more book reviews
Great book. Can be read at any time of the year, not just Christmas. Read for book club and has been one of our all time favorites. Spurred the others in the club to read his other books!
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 31 more book reviews
A great little book that I read each Christmas.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 140 more book reviews
This was a great little book to read during the Christmas holidays.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 60 more book reviews
Great book. Can be read at any time of the year, not just Christmas. Read for book club and has been one of our all time favorites. Spurred the others in the club to read his other books!
Nightcrawler avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 207 more book reviews
Easy read. Book is about a husband, wife and 4 year old that go to rent and care for an aristocratic widow. She dies three weeks later, but not before she teaches them the meaning of life.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 85 more book reviews
A very touching and inspirational story that I was able to read in a single evening.
Kmarie avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 529 more book reviews
When Richard Paul Evans wrote The Christmas Box, he intended it as a private expression of love for his two young daughters, Jenna and Allyson. Though he often told them that he loved them, he didn't feel that they could ever really understand the depth of his feelings until they had experienced the joy of rearing their own children, and by that time their relationship would have changed forever. In writing The Christmas Box, he hoped that at some time in the future they would read the book and know of their father's love.

As Evans began to write, he was amazed at the inspiration that flowed into his mind and heart. He completed the moving story of a widow and the young family who comes to live with her in less than six weeks, and bound twenty copies to give as Christmas presents to family and friends. In the following weeks, those twenty copies were shared and passed along from family to family, from friend to friend, and what began as a tale for two little girls became a message of miracles, hope, and healing for people throughout the world.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 13 more book reviews
sweet story
christianfiction4me avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 28 more book reviews
very enjoyable holiday read.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 128 more book reviews
excellent heart warming story!
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 60 more book reviews
I always love to read his books. this is a great read around the holidays...
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 9 more book reviews
I enjoyed reading this book with my book club members in the month of December. It was a heart-warming story perfect for the season. It lifted our spirits.
RoyalCatwoman avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 278 more book reviews
Richard Paul Evans originally wrote The Christmas Box as an expression of love for his two daughters, never intending for it to be published. Many Christmas seasons (and a rich publishing contract) later, this touching tale relates the meaning of Christmas in a profound but simple way. Rick, Keri, and their 4-year-old daughter, Jenna, are hired as caretakers and are welcomed into the home of Mary, an ailing widow, just in time for the holidays. Before long, it becomes apparent that Mary cherishes their companionship, and this young family begins to understand that their relationship to Mary is more special than any one of them could have realized. These tender relationships, fraught with real-life struggles, are the backdrop for unraveling a mysterious secret that gently propels the reader through this short story. Unlike most generic Christmas stories, Evans manages to bypass triviality, imbedding these pages with humble truth and emotion. This tiny treasure will cause you to rejoice in the blessings of the season while stirring up a childlike vigor as old profundity is revealed anew. In a season often shrouded in selfishness and materialism, Evans reminds the reader that the only way that we can genuinely love one another is by accepting the greatest gift of love ever given--that of a Father who "so loved His children that He sent His son, that we might someday return to Him."
kramer avatar reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 5 more book reviews
This book was a very quick read. More like a short story, rather than a book. You could read the entire thing in a few hours. It was a cute story.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 168 more book reviews
What a heart-warming and gentle little book! Full of Christmas spirit, of course, but with a sweet lesson about cherishing one's family that will brighten any day of the year. I really enjoyed it.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 257 more book reviews
"Whatever the reason, I find that with each passing Christmas the story of the Christmas Box is told less and needed more. So I record it now for all future generations to accept or dismiss as seems them good. As for me, I believe. And it is, after all, my story."

So begins The Christmas Box, the touching story of a widow and the young family who moves in with her. Together they discover the first gift of Christmas and learn what Christmas is really all about. The Christmas Box story unlike any other.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 371 more book reviews
This is one book with 6 chapters in it.
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on + 122 more book reviews
Richard Paul Evans originally wrote The Christmas Box as an expression of love for his two daughters, never intending for it to be published. Many Christmas seasons (and a rich publishing contract) later, this touching tale relates the meaning of Christmas in a profound but simple way. Rick, Keri, and their 4-year-old daughter, Jenna, are hired as caretakers and are welcomed into the home of Mary, an ailing widow, just in time for the holidays. Before long, it becomes apparent that Mary cherishes their companionship, and this young family begins to understand that their relationship to Mary is more special than any one of them could have realized. These tender relationships, fraught with real-life struggles, are the backdrop for unraveling a mysterious secret that gently propels the reader through this short story. Unlike most generic Christmas stories, Evans manages to bypass triviality, imbedding these pages with humble truth and emotion. This tiny treasure will cause you to rejoice in the blessings of the season while stirring up a childlike vigor as old profundity is revealed anew. In a season often shrouded in selfishness and materialism, Evans reminds the reader that the only way that we can genuinely love one another is by accepting the greatest gift of love ever given--that of a Father who "so loved His children that He sent His son, that we might someday return to Him."
reviewed The Christmas Box (Christmas Box, Bk 1) on
Autographed on inside page by author