The Plight Before Christmas

James Kelly is toy store owner, longing for the days when imagination didn't come in the form of a computer chip in the latest incarnations of video game consoles. As the Christmas season nears with a definite lack of snow to get people into the holiday spirit, he is reminded of a similar year when he was a ten-year-old boy growing up in the early part of the 1960's. His reminiscences turn into a daydream while he sits at his desk in the back of the empty store. He's returned to a disastrous, calamity filled holiday season. When snow finally came that year long ago, the first flakes started falling as James stared out the window of his fifth-grade class on the seventeenth of December. They were the harbingers of the worst storm to hit the city in over thirty years, setting in motion a series of events and calamities in the Kelly household. These included the mistaken arrest of James father, the near death experience of his slow-talking uncle thanks to an overzealous snow plow operator, and the Christmas surprise for his mother that ends in the Christmas turkey looking like it has been part of the opening wave on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, and more. For James' father Charles, the events that unfold bring him face to face with his own holiday miracle, in which he finds himself understanding that fatherhood involves more than just being the breadwinner. The Plight Before Christmas is written with the same sense of wit and whimsy that Kirkland brought to his earlier books and his syndicated humor column, which ran in Canadian and American newspapers from 1994-2007. This story is suitable for older YA readers and adults who would like to remember the feelings of anticipation waiting for that one all important morning of the year. W. Bruce Cameron, the author of Eight Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter, A Dog's Purpose, Emory's Gift and more says, "A wonderful, nostalgic look at a simpler time and place, The Plight Before Christmas will appeal to fans of A Christmas Story. You don't just read about this family--you live with them as they fumble and stumble to a hilarious holiday." Syndicated Columnist and Blogger (Lost In Suburbia) and author (Rebel Without A Minivan) Tracy Beckerman says "The Plight Before Christmas" is misnamed. It should be called "The Gift Before Christmas" because this magical story is the best gift you can give or receive for the holidays!"