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Rating: 
Summary: NOT A GOOD BOOK
Review: I find that my reaction to Steve Burt's stories in A Christmas Dozen, is always the same - a smile and a tear. A smile because my heart has been warmed and a tear because of the sublime beauty of the human spirit expressed in simple words. These stories are a delight and should be read by anyone, young and old, seeking a peaceful respite from the chaos of a hectic holiday season or from the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life. The few minutes you spend reading one of these gems can alter your mood for the rest of the day. Steve Burt has truly given us a gift to treasure!
Rating: 
Summary: A Christmas Tradition
Review: Of all Steve Burt's wonderful books, "A Christmas Dozen" is my family's favorite. Compassion, love, giving and faith are some of the lessons learned as we read Burt's stories aloud last Christmas Eve- and the kids can't wait to read them again this year! This is a family tradition that will remain with this family forever. I highly, highly reccommend "A Christmas Dozen" to you, your family, friends, neighbors and church. This gift gives much, many, many times over!
Rating:
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)
Rating:
Summary: Perfect - Perfect
Review: Playing these tapes in my car gives me the feeling of having my own personal counseling session. The Story-telling and stories are supberb. While listening - you smile, giggle,laugh and cry. They are fantastic. I recognize areas, names and characteristics of many of the locals on the east end. Thank you Steve.
Rating:
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
Rating:
Summary: Warms the heart and the soul
Review: Steve Burt's stories are perfect reading especially at Christmas but heart warming the whole year. We will include each of these with the traditional "Twas the Night Before Christmas" reading during family gatherings. Great writing and touching themes to each of the stories for all ages.
Rating:
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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