Deck the Shelves

Ready or not, the holidays are upon us. Frantic shoppers push through congested shops who in turn have turned another holiday into a marketing extravaganza that continuously revolves like the pages of a calendar, from one sale to the next.


While many people are heading to the library for cookbooks, holiday movies, and to browse the shelves for some casual reading, others are finding comfort in remembering the meaning behind some of the rhetorical madness of the season and turning to more spiritual choices.
In November, Booklist published their Top Ten Religion Books for Youth. Here’s a highlight of that list and a few of my favorites:

Angel in My Pocket tells how a good luck charm has a positive effect on four seventh graders who are each going through their own difficult time. A nice story that blends everyday life with spiritual wonder and has you looking for your guardian angel in places you would have never dreamed.

Caleb’s Wars by David L. Dudley is set in 1940s Georgia, so if you need a historical fiction book to satisfy that assignment this might be a good choice. While being baptized, Caleb, an African American teen, hears the voice of God and tries to keep it a secret as he sorts out his family problems. Add in German prisoners of war and two miraculous healings and you have a story that leaves you wondering about those voices in your own head.

Bless This Mouse, think Maus revisited for a younger crowd, as Newbery Award winning author Lois Lowry offers up this latest book that tells the tale of an endangered community of church mice anticipating the Blessing of the Animals when all the cats will descend upon the sanctuary. A charming fantasy that reflects upon the deeper meaning of diversity and community and how the constant struggle for survival brings out spiritual awareness.

Some other favorites at our library that didn’t make the list include: One More Wednesday by Malika Doray, a unique tale of love and loss that opens up avenues of conversation on death and eternity as a child hopes for one more Wednesday with grandma and all the love and comfort it provided.

The Mountains of Tibet by Mordicai Gerstein recants a woodcutter who dies and is given the choice of going to heaven or living another life. A beautiful story told in the simplest of words.

For those looking for a more poignant tale on the afterlife consider The Wheel of Life: a memoir of living and dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. I’ve given this book as a gift to medical students and those dealing with grief as a way of offering a different view on death and reincarnation. Her final book on the subject is actually an autobiography that uses her personal story as example and urges you to ask yourself “What have you done to help”.


Holidays can be a difficult time for many people but hopefully the reminder that something bigger than all of us guides our journeys, no matter what path we are on, can have a calming effect when the burning brisket sets off the smoke alarm and you’re wrapping that last present using black electrical tape on Christmas Eve. Relax, read a book, and have a peaceful holiday.