Deseret Book sent two wonderful products for Christmas to our family to review. The first one is a wonderful story called Christmas From Heaven, which is a book about the Berlin Candy Bomber.
Christmas from Heaven is the story of the humble beginnings of what became a beacon of hope to a war-torn land, the story of Gail Halvorsen, a young pilot in the US Army Air Corps who was assigned as a cargo pilot to the Berlin Airlift, in which US forces flew much-needed supplies into a Soviet-blockaded Berlin.
As he performed his duties, Lt. Halvorsen began to notice the German children gathered by the fences of Tempelhof Air Base. Knowing that they had very little, he one day offered them some chewing gum. From that small act, an idea sprang: He would “bomb” Berlin with candy. Fashioning small parachutes, he and his crew sent them floating down as they approached the Berlin airport, wiggling the wings of their C-54 as a signal to the children that their anticipated cargo would soon arrive.
Lt. Halvorsen became known by hundreds, if not thousands, of children in Berlin as “Uncle Wiggly Wings” or “The Candy Bomber.” Word soon spread, and donations of candy and other supplies poured in from sympathetic Americans. Lt. Halvorsen’s small idea became a great symbol of hope not only to German children in a bombed-out city but to all those who yearned for freedom.
It is full of beautiful illustrations and actual photos. I am sure it is one your family will love! My kids haven’t read it yet because we are using it for one of our 25 books of Christmas!
Tom Brokaw brings this true story to life in the accompaning DVD that features a live performance with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Also in the book is a template and directions to create your own Candy Bomber parachutes.
I also receive this Biblical Names of Christ Ornament Set. They have a fun vintage feeling about them, and go perfect with my red, cream and silver tree. I love that each star features a Biblical name of Christ on each one. It was fun to put them on the tree with my kids and have them read each one. On the back of the box is a scripture that goes with each name that you can look up. You could also use these as a 12 Days of Christmas activity and put one on each day for the 12 days before Christmas.
Rachael says
Don’t you just love Deseret Book. I could spent hours and way too much money in their stores.