Synopses & Reviews
Seventy years after his father left to be a mapmaker for the war in Europe, Emerson Johansson received a package that had been lost in the mail for decades. The parcel contained a most extraordinary gift: an exquisite book Johansson's father lovingly made by hand, detailing an unforgettable adventure they shared together just months before his departure. With maps, drawings, watercolors and photographs, this artifact and family heirloom recounts a mountainous winter landscape alive with the dangers and magic of an alpine blizzard. Destined to become a Christmas classic, The Lost Christmas Gift is a faithful reproduction of the magnificent hand-crafted present Johnasson's father sent him, and a poignant reminder that the best gifts transcend time and distance, renewing our gratitude for the resilience of memory, the bonds of family, and the kindness of strangers.
Review
"A new take on an ancient story." -- Denver Post
Review
"In The Lost Christmas Gift, Andrew Beckham brings us a wondrous, eerily timeless story about love, survival, war, ceremony, family, and magic. He delivers us to the realm of the marvelous." -- Barry Lopez, author of Arctic Dreams and Of Wolves and Men
Review
"I was deeply touched by a most extraordinary new work that is destined to become a yuletide classic. The Lost Christmas Gift, sensitively written by Andrew Beckham, is a book within a book. It is the remarkable story of a superbly handcrafted tome sent to a boy by his mapmaker dad deployed to Europe during World War II. The parcel, however, gets lost in the mail. Seven decades later, it arrives -- to the stupendous joy of the recipient. Like me, you will marvel at this tale. And perhaps have a tear in your eye by book's end." -- San Jose Mercury News
About the Author
Andrew Beckham is the Visual Arts Department Chair at St. Mary's Academy, Denver, CO, 2000-present.