MOMMA'S CHRISTMAS GIFT

A modern Gift of the Magi tale of a poor Hmong family celebrating Christmas and the love, sacrifice, and generosity that holds them close.

Six days a week, Momma wakes up before dawn to head to the factory. She leaves three simple bowls of rice and egg on the table for her children and always returns home before their bellies start to rumble. Sister knows their family does not have much. She loves walking home and being greeted by the glowing Santa on the corner and the twinkling lights and decorated trees inside homes. She plays with her siblings in the snow and together they dream and wish.

On Christmas Eve, Momma sneaks away with Auntie May, and when it is nearly night, Momma returns home bearing a wonderful surprise. But how can this be?

Momma's Christmas Gift is a touching story about the magnificent gift of a mother's love and how all mothers make magic daily, especially during the holidays.

Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong-American writer. She is the author of the adult memoir The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir. Yang's many children's books include Caged, From the Tops of the Trees, A Map Into the World, The Most Beautiful Thing, and The Rock in My Throat. She is a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, and her work has earned numerous honors, including finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Chautauqua Prize, and the PEN USA literary award, and winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and four Minnesota Book Awards. Kao Kalia Yang lives in Minnesota with her family, and teaches and speaks across the nation.