NORTH CANTON, Ohio, Dec. 13, 2018 — The award-winning children’s book, The Sparkle Box: A Gift with the Power to Change Christmas, has sparked a movement to put the focus on the true meaning of Christmas by giving a gift to Jesus on His birthday. In a show of support, Worthy Publishing, the book’s publisher, did something unprecedented in the traditional world of children’s book publishing: it made The Sparkle Box available to read online for free through December 31, 2018.
The movement is inspired by a tradition called The Sparkle Box that is revealed at the end of the book. What The Sparkle Box contains catches readers by surprise. Unlike traditions pointing to the North Pole, The Sparkle Box points to the origin of Christmas: a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and the message he taught to care for those in need.
The Sparkle Box tradition requires the participant to give a gift to someone in need of basic necessities such as food, clothing, clean water or kindness. They write down the gift given and place it in the box. On Christmas morning, they remember Jesus by reading The Sparkle Box gift given in celebration of his birthday.
Author Jill Hardie said the ability to read the book for free is fueling a movement to do The Sparkle Box tradition. “When people read the book, there’s often an ah-ha moment of ‘This is what we’ve been missing in our celebration of Christmas.’ People want to share that. They want to be part of putting the focus on Jesus at Christmas and celebrating his birthday by giving him a gift,” said Hardie.
To read The Sparkle Box online for free visit, TheSparkleBox.com.
The Sparkle Box: A Gift with the Power to Change Christmas was published in hardback in 2012 by Ideals Children’s Books. The Sparkle Box received the EPCA Christian Book Award in 2014. On October 2, 2018, The Sparkle Box was released in paperback by Worthy Publishing. Both the hardback and paperback editions come with a foldable Sparkle Box. Written by Jill Hardie and illustrated by Christine Kornacki, The Sparkle Box is available at many local bookstores and online at Barnes & Noble, Christian Books and Amazon. The book can be read for free at TheSparkleBox.com through December 31, 2018.
Contact: Jill Hardie, 330-418-4492
