Rating: 
Summary: Sweet Christmas story
Review: "What Child is This?" was another good book by Caroline B. Cooney, but not her best, as the characters weren't as realistic as usual and the ending was rather predictable. Liz, 16, seems to have the ideal family for Christmas because her wealthy parents always decorate to the peak during the holidays. However, things are not completely happy at her home when Liz's older sister loses a baby, and also when Liz discovers that her parents don't really care about the meaning of Christmas. 16-year-old Matt, on the other hand, is a hardened foster child who is secretly happy to have new foster parents who care about his grades and his life. When his foster parents also care for an 8-year-old, Katie, he becomes attached to the little girl. Matt and Liz both want Katie to have what she really wants for Christmas: a family. But hope is being lost, and time is running out. Can Katie - not to mention Matt and Liz - have their Christmas wishes come true? This was a sweet, touching story, appropriate for almost all ages. It would make a good family read about the real meaning of Christmas.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet Christmas story
Review: "What Child is This?" was another good book by Caroline B. Cooney, but not her best, as the characters weren't as realistic as usual and the ending was rather predictable. Liz, 16, seems to have the ideal family for Christmas because her wealthy parents always decorate to the peak during the holidays. However, things are not completely happy at her home when Liz's older sister loses a baby, and also when Liz discovers that her parents don't really care about the meaning of Christmas. 16-year-old Matt, on the other hand, is a hardened foster child who is secretly happy to have new foster parents who care about his grades and his life. When his foster parents also care for an 8-year-old, Katie, he becomes attached to the little girl. Matt and Liz both want Katie to have what she really wants for Christmas: a family. But hope is being lost, and time is running out. Can Katie - not to mention Matt and Liz - have their Christmas wishes come true? This was a sweet, touching story, appropriate for almost all ages. It would make a good family read about the real meaning of Christmas.
Rating: 
Summary: A Time For Miracles
Review: A real heart touching book. The characters became more than individuals in the book, they all became a part of a miracle, a most joyful experience. It brought everyone together with one child's wish for a family... A very brilliant plot and scheme of lives intertwined together.
Rating:
Summary: Lucky Child Who Is
Review: I admit that I'm one of those people who love Christmas. I decorate, bake, sing carols, shop and usually drive my family crazy trying to get them into the Christmas spirit. As a high school English teacher and librarian, I'm always looking for good books. One day in the supermarket I happened to see and then buy What Child Is This. It touched my heart in a way that few books ever have. I bought a copy for my best friend and gave it to her for Christmas. Last year I ordered 5 more for my sisters-in-law. This year I intend to order more to give to coworkers and other friends. The message is simple, we're all in this life together and we need to care for and take care of each other. Katie's out there alone and is like so many people in this world who need and desperately want a family.
Rating:
Summary: What Child is This?
Review: I admit that I'm one of those people who love Christmas. I decorate, bake, sing carols, shop and usually drive my family crazy trying to get them into the Christmas spirit. As a high school English teacher and librarian, I'm always looking for good books. One day in the supermarket I happened to see and then buy What Child Is This. It touched my heart in a way that few books ever have. I bought a copy for my best friend and gave it to her for Christmas. Last year I ordered 5 more for my sisters-in-law. This year I intend to order more to give to coworkers and other friends. The message is simple, we're all in this life together and we need to care for and take care of each other. Katie's out there alone and is like so many people in this world who need and desperately want a family.
Rating:
Summary: Shows what is the most important part of Christmas.
Review: I first saw this book as an advance reading copy by Delacorte Press at the June ALA convention in San Francisco. After reading the book that summer,I knew that it would be the gem of the 1997 Christmas season. It is a tightly written, fast paced story that centers on what is the most important part of Christmas - love which is given genuinely to others. A beautiful book to give or receive.
Rating: 
Summary: WHOSE Child is this?
Review: I found this book interesting, fast and easy to read, but must confess that I had not considered the plight of many foster children and foster parents. Especially poignant during a holiday season. I found the book somewhat disjointed, since there were no real chapters, but many short segments, each introduced by a line from a Christmas carol. Sections shifted focus from one teenager (or child or adult) to another, so it requires literary flexibility. Desite the lack of a clearcut protagonist, I think it would make a good TV movie. As the book jacket proclaims; the kids desire so much (a ski trip, expensive sneakers, nothing less than a new and permanent family, and maternal closure for a grieving older sister). Yet the adults who control these kids' lives leave so much to be desired: Liz' parents--clueless about the true meaning of Christmas--honestly love her, but only wish to impress the World, so they set poor examples of compasison and charity. Perhaps a few fathers are as close to perfect as Mr. Knight, but I feel that most congregations would respond the same way if confronted by a Christmas Eve disaster-- even that of a stranger. Let your heart go out to the needy children in the community--this book is an inspiration to churches and social agencies to bring joy to orphans, poor and foster kids with no home to call their own. The ending satisfies..
Rating:
Summary: Lucky Child Who Is
Review: I thought this a wonderful Book and would recomend it to all. And for people who only think of themselves. I think this book would totally change their minds. Its About a little girl named Katie, a foster child, who gets to pick one wish and they will put it on a christmas tree in a restuarant on a tree and if that child is lucky someone will pick their wish and buy it for that child. Even though Katie says all she wants is a casset radio, what she really wants is a family. Two sixteen yr. old help make this possible. Read this book, it is truly a great story and it teachs you what christmas really is and how christmas isn't perfect for everyone and we should help. Buy this book and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Christmas spirit in today's world
Review: If you love Christmas, this book will bring a tear to your eye. If you think Christmas has gotten out of hand, this book will make you remember what it is all about. Believable characters, a tightly woven story, and the hope that only Christmas seems to bring into our lives combine to lift our spirits and remind us of what the spirit of Christmas can accomlish in our world. Give yourself a Christmas present and read "What Child is This?"
Rating:
Summary: Celebrate the spirit of the holiday
Review: In the hurry-up holiday that Christmas has become, What Child Is This puts the spirit back into the season of peace, hope and love. All that and more is in this gem of a story that leaves you hungry to experience the true meaning of Christmas. I'm partial to Christmas stories in general, but this book shines like a child's eyes on Christmas morning.
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