Review: Christmas and gifts – lessons learned
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 4, 2013
There are few people who haven’t appreciated Sari Barel’s creation of Truthy Ruthy and now she has created a special book for the holidays. As usual the writing is brisk and beautifully timed, the accompanying illustrations are a complete joy, and the concepts imbedded in this little book are invaluable. Sari Barel is a recognized international expert in creative thinking and about this very creative interactive book she has commented; ‘I've always emphasized to parents that giving children the freedom to choose, and find their own solutions, is a great gift that will make a huge difference in their lives. Just remember:  there’s always more than one solution!’Truthy Ruthy’s family is out shopping for Christmas gifts but she is only 5 years old, has no money or car, so how can she participate in the surprise gifts for Christmas? Well, dream of course! She has a dream featuring Santa Claus who quickly left a gift on her front step and disappeared, leaving Ruthy wondering what to do with the gift. And then she woke up, and thought all day about her dream, but that night she didn’t dream that dream again but instead had three dreams – disappointment, initiative, and creation – about the gifts. In Disappointment dream she was unhappy with the gift because it had empty bottles and corks and other ‘useless items’ instead of the doll she wished for – something that costs money – and she threw them away, making her sad on Christmas morning. In Creation dream she saw the same ingredients, but instead of being sad she created gifts for her family form the recycled goods, making wonderful surprise gifts for her family – a situation that made her happy. In the Creation dream she made beautiful gift boxes from the gifts Santa left, filling them with her own candies and on Christmas morning she pops out of a specially wrapped box dressed as a Santa and spread out her gifts to the whole family! The major surprise of the holiday.And in Sari Barel’s summary she shares, ‘Pessimistic thinking brings disappointment, Positive thinking leads to remarkable ideas, and Innovative thinking leads to great ideas for all.’ This book is a delight on every level – and even contains a free gift for the reader! Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, December 13