Gina Rae Mitchell

Needles, the Forgotten Christmas Tree by Richard Wagner | Children’s Book Tour ~ Guest Post from the Author ~ Giveaway

A book blog tour from iRead Book Tours.

Thank you to the author, publisher, & Lauren at iRead for providing me with the information for this tour.

Book Details

Needles, the Forgotten Christmas Tree by Richard Wagner
Published by Mascot Books on March 7, 2023
Genres: Children's Picture Book
Format: eBook, Hardcover
Pages: 38

The world is not always a perfect place. Needles, a scraggly little tree, must endure criticism, laughter, and setbacks to realize his goal of becoming a beautiful Christmas tree.

This is a story of dreams, desires, hope, determination, and never giving up. It also offers the observation that what others think is beautiful may not really matter. Beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder, and paired with the spirit of Christmas, maybe we can make the world just a little more perfect!

A MOM’S CHOICE GOLD Award Winner

Source: iRead Book Tours, Kindle Unlimited, Received from the author or publisher for review.

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Purchase Links for Needles, the Forgotten Christmas Tree

Amazon-OneLink for all countries       

BN    ~    Mascot

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My thoughts on Needles, the Forgotten Christmas Tree

 

This heart-warming tale spreads hope and joy to every reader.

Needles, the tiny tree, has big dreams. Through his story, we learn the importance of:

• Self-belief
• Optimism
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
• Perseverance

I particularly liked the disability aspect represented in the book. It warmed my heart to know wheelchair-bound Emily found the Christmas tree of her dreams, which also fulfilled Needles’ dreams.

There are many important talking points throughout the story opening the door to age-appropriate discussions.

I reviewed the hardcover edition of Needles, the Forgotten Christmas Tree. The book is sturdy enough to withstand years of reading by family members. The illustrations by Sydni Kruger bring the story to life.

This is a book made to bring holiday joy to families for many years.

I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.

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I love to read books through my  Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription. 

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Guest Post from the Author

“Needles, the Forgotten Christmas Tree”

by Richard Wagner

Why did I decide that Emily should be infirmed or handicapped and unable to walk?

It’s an interesting question in that Emily being unable to walk was not a pre-conceived concept. In reality, it more or less flowed out in my stream of “writing” consciousness without a lot of thought. As I have reflected on why it happened, it has become obvious.

Needles has challenges. He is small and scraggly, and he doesn’t have many branches. To become a real Christmas tree, he needed to be needed! I had to figure out a character in the story that required a free tree, and maybe not a perfect tree. In other words, it needed to be someone with challenges of their own who could relate to and accept others with equally difficult challenges.

Presto, enter Emily. Her and her family’s challenges required a free tree. Needles’ challenges required a family that needed him. Each got what they “needed” and, in a rather beautiful way, the challenges were lost. They became irrelevant. For Needles, Emily was perfect. For Emily, Needles was perfect.

For young children reading the story, a lesson to be learned is that an infirmed, handicapped, or otherwise challenged individual is a person with hopes, dreams, and desires just like anyone else. They aren’t to be pitied but rather respected as much as any other individual.

That lesson is also brought home in the book by virtue of Needles being able to be a beautiful tree to someone, no more and no less than all of the other trees who made fun of him that themselves became Christmas trees to their someone’s.

 

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Easy Amazon Links

Amazon-OneLink for all countries

Needles, The Forgotten Chri...Shop on Amazon Needles, the Forgotten Chri...Shop on Amazon

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Giveaway!

Win signed copy of NEEDLES THE FORGOTTEN CHRISTMAS TREE (USA only) (ends Dec 20)

Please visit more stops on the tour for extra chances to win!

Official Tour Page with Schedule

NEEDLES THE FORGOTTEN CHRISTMAS TREE Book Tour Giveaway

 

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Book Title: Needles the Forgotten Christmas Tree by Richard Wagner
Category: Children’s Fiction (ages 3 to 7), 32 pages
Genre: Children’s Book
Publisher: Mascot
Release date: Mar 7, 2023
Tour dates: December 5 to December 19
Content Rating: G. Suitable for everyone.

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If you like this book, you might also enjoy:

Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale by A.A. Cristi

The Christmas Blanket by Ed Damiano

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