Kids into Books: Christmas Sonata

Author: Gary Paulsen

Illustrator: Leslie Bowman

Publisher: Macmillan, $13.95

Age Group: 8-10 years


But there was one old man named Henderson, who lived with his wife at the end of our floor, who did not like children. He did not like me in particular, but I thought he must not like any children and a week before Christmas 1943 I was playing in the hall, running back and forth, when I passed Henderson's apartment and saw something that stopped me cold.

Mr Henderson was standing by the kitchen table with his wife. On the table was a glass jar of red wine. I knew about red wine because one of my baby-sitters was an old woman who drank red wine from a jar.

Mr Henderson had some wine in a jelly glass and just as I ran past he was taking a drink.

He was dressed in a Santa Claus suit.

*Tomorrow: Reality bites