Product Description

Not everyone is lucky at Christmas. Some people would call 16-year-old Liz Kitchell and her family truly fortunate, but it doens't feel that way to her. It seems that only a miracle can give 8-year-old Katie her holiday wish. She wants a family, something she does not have as a foster child. As for 17-year-old Matt, he too is in a foster home and is finally letting himself feel a sense of belonging. When he allows himself to do a good deed for Katie, he doesn't realize what would happen. Is the spirit of Christmas strong enough to grant the impossible?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #536718 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-12
• Released on: 1999-10-12
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 6.86" h x .47" w x 4.29" l, .18 pounds
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 160 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-10?A heart-tugging story with an upbeat ending, told in alternating chapters by the young people involved. Eight-year-old Katie, an emotionally starved foster child, writes a wish on a paper bell that will be hung on a Christmas tree in a local restaurant. There, members of the community can choose a request and give a gift to a needy child. However, Katie doesn't ask for toys or clothing?she wishes for a family. Although the social worker says her request is inappropriate, Matt, a high school student who lives in the same foster home and works in the restaurant, hangs the bell on the tree. Liz, Matt's classmate, is upset when her uncaring father reads the wish, calls it ridiculous, and tears up the bell. Meanwhile, Liz's older sister struggles with her grief over the recent death of her baby. When Matt tells Katie on Christmas Eve that her wish will not come true, the devastated girl runs out into a blizzard, setting off a chain of events that brings about a resolution befitting a holiday tale. Showing her flair for adolescent angst, Cooney allows the characters to speak for themselves, eventually weaving their lives together into a fitting climax. A moving, fast paced novel, sure to appeal to Cooney's fans.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A heart-tugging story with an upbeat ending...Cooney allows the characters to speak for themselves, eventually weaving their lives together into a fitting climax. A moving, fast paced novel, sure to appeal to Cooney's fans."
--School Library Journal


From the Hardcover edition.

Ingram
Three individuals whose lives are intertwined at a time of year when miracles seem within reach are at the center of this special holiday book. Thoughtful and inspiring, What Child Is This? is a story about selfless giving and the ways in which love can and does make a difference.