By Heather Lusk
Reading aloud “Where is Christmas” to children each year is what helps the book’s author, Amy Lacy, reconnect with the holiday.
“It starts my Christmas and puts me in the Christmas spirit,” said Lacy, the director of finance and records for the Town of Zionsville. “It’s probably one of my favorite things I do.”
“Where is Christmas” follows three children – Ivy, Grace and Cooper-Joe – who take a journey to discover Christmas while meeting the Easter Bunny, a Thanksgiving turkey and others. The trio discovers that Christmas is “here, it’s there, it’s everywhere,” just as a Main Street Christmas tree is lit.
The book was written 10 years ago as a Kiwanis project to contribute to Christmas in the Village. Lacy was inspired by the event’s theme of Storybook Christmas.
“The end result of the story is that Christmas is everywhere, and it stays in your heart,” Lacy said.
After writing the story, Lacy asked fellow Kiwanis member and artist John Hanks to create the illustrations.
“Two days later he came back, and the characters he drew were just what was in my head,” Lacy said.
Lacy never expected the book to have a decade of longevity.
“I thought we would just use it for that project at that time, and that would be the end of it,” she said.
BOOK READING
Amy Lacy will read “Where is Christmas” at 4 p.m. Nov. 25 at Black Dog Books, 115 S. Main St., Zionsville, prior to the Christmas in the Village parade and tree lighting. The book doubles as a coloring book, and children are invited to color pages during the reading. The book costs $4.
