title: The True Story of Christmas
author:  Anne Fine 
description: Grade 4-6-Banished to his room on Christmas Day, Ralph recounts the disasters that occur when his highly eccentric relatives come together to celebrate the holiday. Funny dialogue ("-I'm not going to sing `Away in a Manger' because I don't love the Little Lord Jesus and I don't think he has a sweet head-"); unique characters, from a demonic preschooler to a daft great-aunt; and hilarious but believable situations make this book a great read-aloud. It's reminiscent of Helen Cresswell's "Bagthorpes Saga" (Macmillan; o.p.), but accessible to younger readers. Fine is in fine form here.-S. P.<br />Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: All I Want For
  
  Christmas
  
  Lynette Rees
  
  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either
  the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
  resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events,
  or locales, is entirely coincidental.
  
  All I Want For Christmas
  
  COPYRIGHT 2015 by Lynette Rees
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
  manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or Celtic Heart
  Publishing except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
  articles or reviews.
  
    
    
    
    
    
  
  **Dedication**
  
   _ **To All at ‘Merthyr Writes’**_
  
   _ **Thank you for your encouragement and support!**_
  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  
    
  
  **Chapter One**
  
  "I don't know why you didn't hang on to Richard Stillman," my mother trilled.
  We were both in close proximity, as I drove her to Cardiff for some Christmas
  shopping in my green Mini car.
  
  The trouble with Mother is 