By: Leo Buscaglia, PhD
Illustrator: Tom Newsom
Publisher: Slack Incorporated
Date of Publication: June 1, 1987
Length: 110 Pages
About the Author
Felice Leonardo "Leo" Buscaglia PhD, also known as "Dr. Love," was an American author and motivational speaker, and a professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Southern California. His dynamic speaking style was discovered by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and his televised lectures earned great popularity in the 1980s. At one point his talks, always shown during fund raising periods, were the top earners of all PBS programs. Dr. Buscaglia died of a heart attack on June 12, 1998.
The Spirit of Christmas is Love
This book features the following short stories about the author's Christmas memories:
A Christmas Morning Memory - A story about Leo's poor Italian immigrant family and a lesson in forgiveness and love.
Two Festivals of Light - Leo and his family share Christmas dinner with their new Jewish neighbors.
A Gift of Ravioli - When Leo was a boy, he had a crush on the public librarian. He only had some of his mother's homemade ravioli to give her at Christmas, but that was enough.
The Christmas Story According to Big Matthew - A humorous story about Leo directing the Christmas pageant when he was a young elementary school teacher.
A Santa Suit Does Not a Santa Claus Make - Leo is recruited to be the school Santa Claus when the school custodian fell ill.
No Room at the Inn - Leo shares the Christmas story during a magical trip to Bali on Christmas Eve.
The Christmas That Almost Wasn't - Leo finds himself in the hospital recovering from a heart attack and quintuple heart bypass surgery on Christmas day, 1992. This does not stop him from spreading love to fellow members of the "Open Heart Club."
My Thoughts
I remember watching Dr. Leo Buscaglia on PBS and reading his books in the 1980s. When I saw this book at the library sale, I was immediately drawn to it. This little book does an amazing job defining the true meaning of Christmas. The author tells how each of the Christmas memories he shared in this book reinforced his beliefs in the value of caring and love.
I can't choose a favorite story from this book...I loved them all. The illustrations are lovely and add value to the stories.
The spirit of Christmas is love. Each of the seven stories in this book emphasized the importance of family, friendship, caring, sharing and love. "Dr. Love" was a great inspiration to all who heard him speak and read his books.
I highly recommend this book to older children and adults.
It is a short book that packs a mighty punch. You will want to read it each year to remind you of the true meaning of the season.
My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5
FYI ~ I found this book on the quarter shelf at a Friends of the Library sale.
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