The Broken Ornament

Have you read The Broken Ornament? 

It is such a sweet Christmas story with a wonderful message! It is written by Tony DiTerlizzi, the author of The Spiderwick Chronicles series and Ted, among others. 

The Broken Ornament is the story of a little boy named Jack who wants more of everything for Christmas, more decorations, a larger tree, more presents… but in his quest for more Jack breaks a special ornament. The events that follow help Jack see things a little more clearly and he feels the true spirit of Christmas. 

This would be a great story to discuss the following standard:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events

Jack is the perfect character to examine: 

At the beginning of the story Jack wants to have the best Christmas ever, and to him this means MORE of everything Christmas related. By trying to have MORE, Jack does not listen to his mother and makes a big mistake.

This triggers a series of events in which Jack realizes the importance of his mistake and causes him to try to make the mistake up to his mother. 

In the end, Jack feels the true spirit of Christmas in his heart. 

I also love the illustrations in the book! They add so much to the feeling of the story. 

I have included a FREE printable to use with this story! Click to download here!