This was a sweet story about Kaye and her family becoming stranded in a snow storm on Christmas Eve present day near a home that a girl by the name of Lillian used to live in with her family in the 1930's. The woman who still resides in the home is Lillian's younger sister who is now the same age as most grandmothers. There is some foreshadowing in the story and the beginning chapter book goes back and forth between the two families. Kaye is able to communicate with Lillian (now a ghost in present day) who brings her to the last place she was alive with her younger sister Elsa which was at the "perfect christmas tree" up the hill. Short as it may be, it was a sweet story that resonated with me. It is also a good story to show how sometimes you can't explain everything that happens in life. (Hence the fact that Lillian was a ghost)

I would use this book to teach the subject of foreshadowing in an english class and have the students write down examples of foreshadowing after speaking in groups with one another. Discussing it as a class, with one another, and finally writing down their understanding would be a good assessment of the material. ( )

Just like the story The Blue Ghost, which was also written by the same author, this story also centers on the connection and love between a family. These ghost stories are not really intended to scare the readers. Instead, these books teaches young readers, as well as adults, that there are unexplained things we cannot fully comprehend like the concept of ghosts and spirits. But we should take account that these entities want to convey something that's why they make their presence felt. ( )

I would use this book as a class read for 5th grade because it has a lot of foreshadowing that younger students may not pick up on. I would use it as a class read so the students could discuss the foreshadowing in groups and make inferences while referring back to the text.