Book Report: The Gift of the Magi

Another favorite regular for our family is O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi." This short story about a young couple, Jim and Della, tells of love and sacrifice during a holiday season when times were tight. As is common to the short story genre, it's pithy and to the point. Rather than a full palate of colors, O. Henry roughly sketches out the story and lets the readers fill it in.

Over the years, this story has been re-told in a variety of forms. Micky Mouse and Sesame Street produced children's versions; for grown-ups Marie Osmond starred in a movie, The Gift of Love. You can find of variety on on-line, full text of the story . Teachers can download a Study guide to use in their classroom. My all-time favorite version of the story comes from Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey audio series. Entitled "The Adventures of Madge and Guy," you'll giggle all the way through and learn a lesson to boot.

My daughter and I read this before bed the other night. Snuggled on the loveseat in our room, hot chocolate in hand, the story became a "jumping off place" to discuss gift giving, sacrifice, and loving others more than ourselves.