Contact:
Stephanie Mayabb
(512) 478-2028 ext. 203
smayabb@phenixpublicity.com
Children’s book shares origin of Christmas cookie tradition
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (October 7, 2008) – Christmas trees may look a little sparse this year – particularly the area underneath them. Due to tough economic times, many parents may see a little less excitement on their kids’ faces this Christmas. One bestselling children’s author hopes parents will turn recession-driven disappointment into sweet, heartwarming, teachable moments.
Following her bestselling 2007 picture book, The Legend of St. Nicholas, Dandi Daley Mackall takes kids back to the origins of another Christmas tradition, by uncovering the sweetness of a time-honored Christmas rite with The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth (Zonderkidz, October 2008, 978-0-310-71328-9, $16.99).
The Gift of the Christmas Cookie helps kids return to the spirit of sharing with those in need at Christmas, inspiring them to be cheerful givers. The tale follows young Jack during a Christmas season where many families are struggling to make ends meet. To his disbelief, he finds his mother baking cookies, a luxury at the time. Jack is disappointed when he learns that the cookies aren’t for him, but for the needy people at their church. While he helps roll the dough, his mother recounts the story of the Christmas cookie. He learns that the real gift of the Christmas cookie isn’t just sharing with a homeless man, but sharing the love of Jesus with him too.
The Christmas cookie tradition originally sprung from Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland where craftsmen carved special molds into shapes symbolic of Bible stories. Today, the tradition continues in American homes, bringing families together to bake treats shared with neighbors and friends.
Dandi Daley Mackall’s Simple Christmas Cookie Recipe
4 cups sifted flour
3 cups powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon anise extract
Stir all the ingredients. Let the dough stand for two hours. Then roll out the dough. Imprint with cookie cutters or use a designed rolling pin, or press into molds. Let them sit while the oven preheats to 325 degrees. Bake on greased baking sheets for about 15 minutes.
A professional author for more than 20 years, Dandi Daley Mackall has written dozens of articles for popular magazines and published more than 400 books for children and adults alike, with sales of more than 4 million. A frequent guest on radio and television talk shows, she lives in rural Ohio.Award-winning illustrator Deborah Chabrian graduated with honors from Parson’s School of Design and has painted 500 book covers and hundreds of still life paintings. The painting for the cover of The Gift of the Christmas Cookie was recently accepted into a juried competition which will open at The Greenwich Workshop Gallery in Fairfield, Conn. in November. Deborah resides in rural Connecticut. Learn more at www.zonderkidz.com.
Zondervan, a
HarperCollins company, is a world leader in Christian communications and the leading Christian publishing brand. For more than 75 years, Zondervan has delivered transformational Christian experiences through general and academic resources by influential leaders and emerging voices, and been honored with more Christian Book Awards than any other publisher. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., with offices in San Diego and Miami, Zondervan conducts events and publishes its bestselling
Bibles,
books,
audio,
video,
curriculum,
software, and
digital products through its
Zondervan,
eZondervan,
Zonderkidz,
Youth Specialties,
Editorial Vida, and
National Pastors Convention brands. Zondervan resources are sold worldwide through retail stores, online, and by
Zondervan ChurchSource, and are translated into nearly 200 languages in more than 60 countries. Visit Zondervan on the Internet at
www.zondervan.com (mobile site:
zvan.mobi).
Zonderkidz™, a division of
Zondervan, inspires young lives through imagination and innovation. As the leader in Christian children's communications, it produces bestselling and award-winning
Bibles,
books,
board books,
graphic novels,
audio,
video, and
digital products that awaken the hearts and touch the souls of kids under 16 and the people who love them, from family members to educators. Zonderkidz is the publisher of the
NIrV (New International Reader's Version) Bible translation, the 3rd-grade reading level edition of the
NIV that is ideal for children and those who speak English as a second language. Visit Zonderkidz on the Internet at
www.zonderkidz.com.