Did Anyone Ever Steal Your Christmas?

Dear Martha,

I have two questions. First, has anyone ever stolen your Christmas like in "Who is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas?" Second, have you thought about other holidays that people could steal, like St. Patrick's Day and Flag Day? Thanks for answering!

Jane Kinney, Age 8, Haddonfield, N.J.

Dear Jane,

I guess am really lucky because I have had only a very few things stolen from me in my life, and none of them was Christmas. The one I remember best was a TV set. This is ironic (which means the opposite of what you might expect) because now I don't even own a TV set. Anyway, what happened was I came home from school one day when I was just about your age, and the black-and-white TV in our den was gone! I thought maybe it was being fixed, but when I asked my mom, she freaked out. It turned out several things had been stolen from our house that day bey a burglar who broke in when no one was home. The police came and everything, but they never got the TV or the other stuff back. It was pretty exciting, actually.

I actually got the idea for "Who is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas?" from the Christmas display on Sparks Street in State College every year. There are so many birds in that display, and I thought it would be funny if one disappeared -- and of course Luau, my hero Alex's cat, would be the first to notice.

As for other holidays -- YES! I have definitely thought of writing more of these stories featuring other holidays. Both Flag Day and St. Patrick's Day are great ideas -- thank you. Right now I am working on "Who Stole New Year's Eve?" because my brilliant librarian friend Becky Collins reminded me that kids often feel left out on that holiday. What do you think?

Thanks for writing, Jane!