The Lion in the Box by Marguerite de Angeli. Republished by Purple House Press.

“Sunday, the children went to Sunday school. Mama kept Sooch with her at home. Ben went into the kindergarten class under Mrs. McAlister’s care. Already, he could sing with the other little ones. The girls were in Miss Von Tipple’s class. This Sunday, she told them more about Christmas, about the shepherds on the hills of Judea, the angel choir and the coming of the three kinds with their gifts for the Baby. There was a tree decorated with bright tinsel, a shiny star at the very top and candles. Lili wished their own tree would be as bright and beautiful.”

This slightly fictionalized but true story of a family of five children who live with their widowed, working mother is dedicated to Marguerite de Angeli’s friend, Lili Galen, who is one of the children in the story. Lili’s family is poor, but as the saying goes, rich in love. Mama works two jobs to support herself and her children. Christmas is coming, but Lili knows that the doll from the department store window and the real toy train that she wishes she could buy for little brother Ben are way beyond the family’s means. Nevertheless, the children work hard, take care of one another, and appreciate what they do have–food to eat, a small Christmas tree, and homemade decorations.

When the family receive a huge surprise Christmas box, speculation is that the box contains a lion! But what it really contains and who sent it are revelations of the abundance of Christmas grace that can and often does inhabit the world. I love knowing that this is a true story and that people did and still do, I believe, give of themselves and their resources to others less fortunate than themselves.