The True Gift Paperback - 2013

Chapter One

Liam and I sit on the backseat of PapaâÈçs old car. The car heater isnâÈçt working, so Liam and I share a blanket. We can see our breath in the air.

âÈêHow many books did you bring?âÈë whispers Liam.

Liam and I share a worry. Our school closes for ten days, and weâÈçre going to Grandpa and GranâÈçs house. We always go there in December, waiting for Christmas and Mama and Papa to come Christmas Day. We worry about not taking as many books as weâÈçll need.

âÈêI brought fifteen books,âÈë I say.

âÈêI brought thirty-seven,âÈë says Liam.

I burst out laughing.

âÈêDonâÈçt worry, Lily. There is the stone library if you run out.âÈë

Liam runs out of books all the time. Sometimes he reads three chapter books in one day.

I smile.

We love that stone library, our second home at Grandpa and GranâÈçs farm.

âÈêThe lilac library,âÈë Liam says.

ItâÈçs true. No matter what time of yearâÈ'winter or summer or fall or springâÈ'that library smells like lilacs.

Liam takes a book out of the bag at his feet. I smile. I am three years older than Liam, and I have a sudden sweet memory of teaching him how to read. He was four years old and he grinned for two weeks when he figured out the mystery of words.

âÈêWeâÈçll have snow,âÈë says Papa, looking up at the sky. Liam and I laugh, and Mama laughs too. We call Papa the Weather Man.

And suddenly, as if his words bring it on, snow begins to fall; flakes one by one, slowly at first, then harder. Papa turns on the windshield wipers, and we watch the back-and-forthing of them.

âÈêI hope the library stays open if it snows,âÈë says Liam.

âÈêThat library is always open,âÈë says Mama. âÈêThat library has been open ever since I was a little girl.âÈë

We turn into the long dirt driveway to Grandpa and GranâÈçs house, past the meadow where White Cow turns her head to watch us go by.

âÈêWhereâÈçs Rosie?âÈë asks Liam. âÈêWhereâÈçs the donkey?âÈë

âÈêDonâÈçt know,âÈë says Mama. âÈêCanâÈçt see her.âÈë

The snow is coming harder now and is beginning to stick to the road. It is almost dusk.

âÈêDid you bring your money?âÈë asks Liam.

I nod.

We have worked weekends and after school to earn money for Christmas presents. I babysat for the three Cooper children across the street. Liam and I both mowed lawns and shoveled snow when it came. Once he painted a shed. There are only two stores in Gran and GrandpaâÈçs small town. But that is enough for us to buy presents for everyone.

Liam holds up a red sock with a gray stripe. It is fat with his money.

I smile. The car passes the barn and pulls up to the front porch of the big white house. There are Christmas lights in every window. Gran and Grandpa come out to wave. Their terriers, Emmet and Charlie, bark fiercely at us, then race down the porch steps happily for jumping and licking.

Snow falls harder.

WeâÈçre here!

Âû 2009 Patricia MacLachlan

Patricia MacLachlan (1938-2022) was the author of many well-loved novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal; its sequels, Skylark and Caleb's Story; Edward's Eyes; The True Gift; Waiting for the Magic; White Fur Flying; Fly Away; and Snow Horses. She lived in western Massachusetts.

Brian Floca is the author and illustrator of the acclaimed picture books Locomotive, winner of the Caldecott Medal and a New York Times bestseller; Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11; and Lightship, each a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. He is the illustrator of numerous additional books, including Avi's Poppy series. You can visit him online at BrianFloca.com.