The Golden Ring
 John Snyder
  (Associate Student Reviewer - Karrie G.)
 : Time Warner Books
 2001 Warner Books
  ISBN: 0446530069

Until Joseph Beal helps his family hunt for a Christmas tree, he has always thought their focus on the tree took away from the true meaning of Christmas. Then he has a dream.

Associate Student Reviewer Karrie G. writes:

The Golden Ring begins with the Beal family's quest for a Christmas tree. Every year the children & their mother, eagerly & joyously go out to cut down a Christmas tree. Joseph Beal, the children's father, has always refused to accompany them as he feels that with all the Christmas lights & presents the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, is lost. That year, however, at the last minute Joseph accompanies them & finds the experience wonderful, & realizes that he regrets all those celebrations he's missed.

That night, after the children had gone to sleep, Joseph stayed up a while to read in the Bible. Involuntarily he dozed off. He dreamt that Jesus came to him & gave him a ring saying that it was no good to him but he was sure it would bring others great joy. Joseph abruptly awoke just as he reached for the exquisite piece of jewelry.

Strangely enough Anna, the Beals' youngest daughter had also had a dream similar to Joseph's. In hers Jesus had held out his hand to her & asked for her most prized possession: her golden ring which had been given to her for her ninth birthday. She woke up crying at the prospect of having to give away something so dear to her.

That holiday season, while Anna & her sisters admired the shops' window decorations, she pondered what the dream could mean. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of crying & she saw a girl her own age wearing gloves full of holes, weeping on a nearby bench. Anna approached her & learned that her name was Martha. Martha's father had lost his job, & with no place to live, they had been traveling in hopes he could find work. Now their wagon was broken & they couldn't keep going. Martha's story made Anna want to help her, so she stripped off her nice warm gloves & gave them to Martha. Somehow Anna still felt this was not enough.

Inspired, Anna grabbed Martha by the hand & dragged her to Reverend Twigg's house where she told him what had happened. He gladly gave Martha's parents a hand. Both girls wished Martha didn't have to go, as they'd become good friends. That night after some hard thinking & soul-searching Anna decided to give Martha her ring. She figured they could sell it for food & not have to go hungry anymore.

But what is the meaning of these bizarre dreams of Jesus & His words about the rings? Joseph does not understand until Christmas eve, when the music from his dream leads him to a small dark shop in their little town.

The Golden Ring is a touching, beautiful Christmas story that brought tears to my eyes. John Snyder has captured the true spirit of Christmas, both the religious & festive sides of the holiday. Surprisingly, it is a true story that his beloved Grandmother told him one Christmas a little while before she passed away.

I loved this book. I recommend it for a good Christmas read. It's definitely a four-tea-cupper!

(01/13/02)
Karrie G.
A RebeccasReads.Com Associate Student Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
Karrie G. lives in The Netherlands. She is 15 years old, attends a Dutch Language School & is originally from Wisconsin, USA

Her favorite colors are: light blue, sea green, lavender & black!
Favorite sports are: swimming & soccer.
Favorite school subjects are: languages & creative writing class.
Favorite things to do are: playing the piano, reading, writing short stories & poetry, drawing & going to the movie theater.
The Netherlands is one of the smallest countries in Europe. Most people call the Netherlands Holland & it is about the size of Connecticut, but with a lot more people, sixteen million. You may think of tulips, chocolate, windmills & wooden shoes when you think of Holland. Although there are still lots of tulips & chocolate, & there are still some windmills, you wouldn't see many people wearing clogs today.