From The Beatinest Boy by Jesse Stuart:

The next morning David was up and had rekindled the fire from the living embers. The bluster of mad winds roared around their house and banged their gates. It moaned through the branches of the leafless sassafras that stood beside the well in their back yard. It was Christmas at their house, all right. One of David’s socks was filled with two bananas, an orange, and striped candy. These were the things David looked forward to getting since he had known there was a Christmas.

After David made a fire in the kitchen stove, he went out to feed the chickens and cow. This was Christmas morning and he was feeding early. He wanted to give his grandmother time to be up and dressed.

p.104-105

Jesse Stuart was born and educated in Appalachia, and his books gave adults and children a glimpse of life in that region of the country. In The Beatinest Boy, David is an orphan who lives with his grandmother, “the smartest, most wonderful woman in the world.” David spends the entire bod looking for ways to earn enough money to buy his grandmother a Christmas present, and he finally succeeds. The book ends with the chapter in which David and Grandmother celebrate Christmas, a simple but joyful celebration. David and his grandmother both give and receive presents that demonstrate their love for each other.

The Beatinest Boy would make a lovely Christmas read aloud book.