The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dogby Dave Barry
Synopsis: Junior high schooler Doug Barnes is playing a shepherd in the Christmas pageant at the bat-infested Episcopal Church. When the Barnes family dog dies on Christmas Eve, Doug and his father end up adopting a shelter dog, Walter, a charmer who manages to wreck the pageant.
Well, if you know me, you know I'm pretty cynical and jaded and like mean, angry stuff like heavy metal and horror long before I read or watch any of the schmaltzy, lovey-dovey stuff. But once in a while, especially around Christmas, I do try to see how the other half entertains with a few good Christmas tales (and ones that don't include zombies and such). This is one of those books you can read out loud to the kids right after you all watch Santa Claus Is Coming To Town as most of the humor is pretty juvenile.
If you're looking for deep or thought-provoking story telling, keep on looking. This is a just heartwarming, cute Christmas comedy and it's not trying to be anything else. I never laughed out loud nor did I cry (like some reviews I read) but I smiled a lot, chuckled and remember back to similar times in my youth at the holidays. Most of the humor is pretty cliched (it's like an episode of The Wonder Years mixed The Sandlot and shaken with some of A Christmas Story) and has been seen in most of the holiday movies by this point, but Barry's writing style is smooth and easy to enjoy nonetheless.
And you really can gather the kids 'round the fireplace and read it to them as it only takes about an hour to get all the way through and has a lot of cute pictures to share. Dog lovers will probably love it more, and non-dog lovers might just go (to a shelter hopefully) and buy their kids a dog for Christmas. Heck, read it to your dog I guess if you're so inclined.
It's not as "hilarious" as some reviews I read would have you believe, but it's cute and comical enough to enjoy every Christmas.
6/10
