The Present

by Bob Gill

The carefully wrapped present was perched half-hidden on his parents' closet shelf. Arthur, a little boy with a very large imagination, feverishly tried to guess what it might contain. A pet? A shiny trumpet? A new computer? The possibilities were almost endless. All for him and him alone€”until the doorbell interrupted his reverie. What happened next is a remarkable and soul-satisfying reminder that the act of sharing is perhaps the greatest present of all. A simple and timeless tale of spontaneous generosity, told with understated humor, a great warmth and a brilliantly direct graphic stylewhich go to the very heart of the human experience. With the gentle insight of A Cup of Christmas Tea and the resonant innocence of The Giving Tree, Bob Gill's book is destined to become a best-loved gift about gift-giving.

Genres: Picture Books, Christmas

36 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2010

Reviews

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy sees a gift at the top of his parents' closet and knows it's for his birthday. He spends the whole book imagining what can be in the box. Then a lady comes soliciting toy donations for poor children and he gives her the unwrapped gift. I wanted to love it—the message of unselfishness. But the ending was so sudden that it just didn't work for me, and it certainly didn't work for my son, who obviously wanted to see the box opened. Also one of the illustrations was pixellated, ugh. On the up side, we did enjoy the book until the end came and surprised us, and I also love the nice heavy non-glossy paper it's printed on.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

OY. What a great tour of possibility and totally relatable prose, and then plop. We get dropped off at the dumbest ending ever.
Bob Gill's a genius, but this is a stinker.
Do you know any kid that would do this? I don't know any kid who would do this. Even if all kids should do this (and I'm not sure they should), I'm left feeling sorry for the "poor kids."

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy finds a wrapped present in the closet.
He is sure it is for his birthday.
He spends time daily imagining what it could be.

Then, when his birthday arrives, someone comes to the door asking for toys for young children and he gives it away without ever opening it.

[Nancy Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I so wanted to like this book with the large simple illustrations of what the mystery present could be. But the reader doesn't find out after the build up throughout the entire book. I think to abrupt for the young reader even though the message is appreciated. Almost a book for young adults to encourage conversation about giving.

[Suezette Given · Rating 4 out of 5]

great message

[Miss Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too didactic

[Patrice]

BookTree
S&E liked

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: The Present by Bob Gill
Summary: After seeing a hidden present a boy wonders what it could be.
Age: 4-6 years
Rating: Maybe
Pros: The illustrations are bold and graphic with a judicious use of color.
The story is innocent and imaginative; the boy imagines his gift as a boat, a birthday cake, a kite and a Japanese lantern.
Cons: The story is poorly paced; with a middle that is too long and an ending that is too quick. The main character imagines his present to be 24 different things and on the last page he suddenly gives the unopened present to a woman at the door collecting gifts for the poor. The ending works poorly because it’s dropped on the reader with no foreshadowing.
The illustrations are very sparse, with each page consisting solely of the gift the main character is imagining—this becomes redundant rather quickly.
Usage: The story is flat in the middle, which makes it tricky to use for story time (but not impossible.) The book would work well for independent reading or parent/care giver one-on-one sharing.

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, a boy named Arthur sees a present wrapped in the top of the closet. He spends the entire book imagining all the different things that could be in the box. Then, quite suddenly at the end, someone comes to the door collecting toys for the homeless. Arthur goes and gets the box, and gives it away.

I wanted to like this book because of the selflessness message, but it was not well written. The ending was sudden and the story was under developed. Plus, my son did not understand why the present wasn't revealed. I tried to say, "What do you think was in it?" and have him imagine. He ventured some responses, but he just really wanted to see what was actually in the present.

[Stefani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy finds a hidden wrapped present, suspecting it's for his birthday. While waiting, he tries to guess what is inside. Many are good guesses, while some are just outrageous. In the end, he realizes it's better to give than receive.

This would be a fun read for storytime; while it's a birthday present, the idea still works for Christmas (or the wording could be changed in the reading).

My only concerns is that it seems fairly long; there are just too many possibilities. Also, I want to know what's in the box!

[Joan Arbogast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arthur finds a present in his parents' closet and wonders if it's his birthday present which his mother always ties with a red ribbon. With each passing day, he imagines what the gift might be. finally on his birthday a lady knocks on the door, collecting gifts for kids in need, he run to the closet and gets the present for the lady.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah. This book is totally unrealistic. A kid wonders about his birthday present for weeks when he sees it wrapped up in the closet. Then when the big day finally comes, he gives it away without even openning it to someone collecting donated toys? No way.

[Kapila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Altruism. Sharing. A bit different this book, considering there are no pictures of Arthur...

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a decent book, though nothing extraordinary - following a boys imaginings of what could be in the present box in his parents' closet - but then the ending won my heart.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very charming story about a boy who imagines what his present might be but ultimately donates the present without ever knowing what it is.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I've read this before? Maybe one of my friend's gifts to her grandson? Don't know, but I liked it a lot.