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Rating: 
Summary: Wishes, hopes and dreams, fulfilled by love....
Review: For the past 28 years, Rev. Steve Burt has entertained his congregation on Christmas Eve by reading them heart-warming tales in place of a sermon. These stories capture the imagination and reach the soul."A Christmas Dozen" is a compilation of the most-requested stories since 1972. After many readings, eager listeners requested printed copies. They wanted to share the profound message of unconditional love with their friends and family. What a wonderful stocking stuffer this is for children and adults alike. These stories were written for reading out loud, but are equally enjoyable to read while curled up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate. The first story captured my heart so quickly, I was surprised. In "Christmas 1944" you will feel "shivers" as you realize there are two enemies staring at one another in the night. Then, the actions of the two soldiers will evoke a deep sense of compassion as you realize that we are all just souls that want to live in peace. In "A Christmas Dozen," also the name of a story in the book, a black Labrador named "Otis" is left behind in the snow and meets a cat who is about to have kittens. The Labrador helps to keep the cat warm and in the morning we find twelve tiny pink-nosed kittens. The family returns and not only finds their lost pet, they are rewarded with a bundle of purring kittens. I love that story the most! Pastor Steve Burt is a natural storyteller. He has woven the Spirit of Christmas into his stories in such a way as to make you feel the wonder of a child. During the holiday season, you might find him reading his stories in a local library, at a Christmas program, to the elderly in nursing homes, or to the world on a radio show. He is well knows as "The Christmas Story Pastor." Pastor Burt's work has also appeared in the popular "Chicken Soup for the Single Soul" book. His daughter has inherited her father's love of writing and is the author of a new book called: "Oh, Solo Mia!" which is a witty guide for single girls. Other works by Steve Burt include: Christmas Special Delivery and Unk's Fiddle and Other Stories. Share these wonderful stories with your own family this Christmas. Perhaps you can make this one of your own family traditions during the holiday season. The stories are thought-provoking and show how people can transcend their impulse to just be human. They rise to the occasion and choose love. That is the best gift we can give, for God is love.
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Summary: Year's Best Inspirational Book, Honorable Mention
Review: On March 28, 2003 Writer's Digest announced that A Christmas Dozen won the Honorable Mention in Best Inspirational Book category of its Self-Published Book Awards. (author note)
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Summary: The perfect gift for the holidays
Review: Perhaps the best collection of Christmas stories ever published in one book! Burt's easy-to-read (larger print), heart-warming stories are appealing to adults and children alike, capturing the essence of the season in twelve entirely different ways. Perfect for cuddling up with family near the fireplace, reading aloud in church services, or sharing to a group of senior listeners or children. You'll never run out of people to give this book to! If you're looking for the next "classic," this is it!
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Summary: The Magic of Christmas is Brought to Life for Our World
Review: Steve Burt enchanted our congregation last Advent by delightfully reading short stories from his book "A Christmas Dozen." In his writing, the adventures of oh so truthfully quirky and vivid New England characters come to life. It's as though today's secular modern world and the sacred are combined in these little realistic and contemporary mysteries of hope. The stories have broad appeal. We had a Christmas reception following his hour of reading, and of course he gleefully autographed books to people - not to mention to their friends and family. He brought boxes of books with him, and HE LEFT WITH NONE! "A Christmas Dozen" is sheer joy. The journeys of his characters have added deep meaning to my Christmas celebration. I was so moved by them, that my wife and I gave a dozen books for Christmas last year, and we will do so again! I can't help wanting to share these stories. I tell them in worship and even read them at Christmas parties. So many things distract us in December from the real meaning of the season. I encourage you to invite the stories of "A Christmas Dozen" into your life. Read them again and again and again. Steve Burt also travels from his home in Connecticut to congreagations and various secular and sacred organizations around the country. His words contain the delightful mystery of Emmanel, the gift of God With Us. Congratulations, Steve, on an extraordinarily magical book! The Rev. David Reed-Brown The First Baptist Church in Essex, CT
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Summary: You don't have to be Christian to enjoy these stories
Review: Steve Burt, a Congregational minister, originally wrote these
heartwarming stories of inspiration and faith for sharing aloud at
Christmas Eve services. Many of them were later published in a wide
variety of periodicals, but it is only now that "The Christmas
Story Pastor," as he likes to be called, has put them together
into this little gem of a book. He might have written them for
churchgoers, but I'm as far from a churchgoer as a person can get. I
have a secular Jewish background and live in New York City, where the
word "church" makes me think of Saint Patrick's Cathedral.
The small town church culture of Americana is an area I've only
explored in books but have never experienced up close and
personal. Only 95 pages long, with easy-to-read print, I took the
book to the gym to read while using the exercise bike. I was so
touched that my eyes welled up with tears and I had to put the book
away to continue exercising. I finished the book within the next two
days, taking my time because I wanted to savor them. Stories are
short, no more than a few pages each, and all set in small towns at
Christmas time. The people are real, characterized by just a few
simple words, and thrust into situations that display their goodness
when faced with choices. I particularly loved a story in which a
boxcar of elephants, on route to the circus, gets stuck on the tracks
one Christmas Eve and formerly hostile ethnic groups pull together to
save the elephants. Another favorite is about a teenager and a
homeless man. Mostly, I found them all fine stories with the exception
of two in which animals talk to each other as if they were human
beings. All of the stories have an inspiring message and there's a
aura of love around them. They were clearly written to reflect the
best we can be. How refreshing! I recommend this book, which is
suitable for children and very easy to read. And you don't have to be
Christian to enjoy it.
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