'?When everything was ready, Pudge got to turn on the lights . and all at once, like magic . it was Christmas.'? Mother was only four-foot-eleven-inches tall on the outside, but when she was at her best she stood eleven-foot-four on the inside. And every Christmas she was at her best. Mother would carefully decorate a twelve-foot Christmas tree and load extravagant presents beneath its branches, and the magic of the holiday would begin. Then one year, everything changed. Mother cried on Christmas.

As her sons tried to encourage her, they learned what it means to give good gifts'to be eleven-foot-four on the inside. When Mother Was Eleven-Foot-Four is beautifully illustrated and masterfully written for children ages four through eight and anyone young at heart. Your family will treasure it each year as a heart-warming story of hope and grace'a reminder that Christmas is a celebration of God?'s extravagant gift to us. Jerry Camery-Hoggatt, author of five books, is professor of New Testament and narrative theology at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. He loves writing and preaching, but more than anything he loves telling stories. He takes special joy in discovering the ways God complicates our plots in an artful play to turn us into more interesting and Christlike characters. Mark Elliott illustrated the children's picture book classic Candle in the Window and numerous young adult book covers, including the Newbery-Award-winning series the Princess Tales. He lives on a working sheep farm in the lower Hudson Valley along with two donkeys and two crazy long-haired cats.