"Join the Uncle and his family as you read this wondrous Christmas Story this year."

Uncle Eben’s Christmas…..by Stephen Alan Slater
Review by Joy at This Little Book of Mine

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Deep River Books (October 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935265385
• ISBN-13: 978-1935265382
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches

Book Blurb:
Eben Johnson, the owner of a home-improvement store forbids his employees to say “Merry Christmas,” and winds up in a “Christmas Carol” experience, where he faces some sobering realities in a dream–or is it a dream?

Taking a journey into the past, present, and future, Eben gets a more relevant experience than that of the Dickens’ story–one that asks an eternal question that we should all ask ourselves…  Are we individually ready for that which is
“beyond” the grave?

Uncle Eben’s Christmas looks at the state of an unbeliever who profits from Christmas, yet gives none of the glory to God. It’s a story of one man who is surrounded by Christians who he finds as poor, deluded, misguided individuals, yet is in his own bleak state about to get the wake-up call of a lifetime!

My Review

Uncle Eben’s  Christmas is a wonderful book telling stories of Christmas. As owner of a home improvements story, Eben's main goal in life is making money and Christmas is a wonderful time to do this. Not being a Christian, he doesn’t let his employees say “Merry Christmas” to the customers, they have to say Happy Holidays to them instead. Earlier in his life, he had made a decision not to follow Christ and he wanted nothing to do with God, he didn’t go to church and didn’t want anything to do with church either.

He does however go to the Christmas program at church during Christmas to see his niece and nephew in the program. Finally one day an angel speaks to Uncle Eben, giving him insight of his life in a long ago time in a small church when his decision was made about the Lord. As the angel was still speaking to him, he let him see what his life would be like without the Lord. This changes Eben’s life and the life of his home improvement business.

Join the Uncle and his family as you read this wondrous Christmas Story this year.

I want to thank Arielle Roper at “Bring It On” communications and Deep River Book for providing a copy of this book to read and review. I was not expected to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are mine only.

Purchase this book at Amazon

Uncle Eben's Christmas, good enough for Hallmark? Come read about it!!

Review done by Heart2Heart

A different take of the traditional Christmas Carol, we find Eben Johnson just days before the Christmas season, hard at work trying to make it another successful year in his Home Improvement Store.

It's a Monday morning just promptly at nine when he arrives for his staff meeting with his department heads. After all the normal business agenda items, Myron Hoffman announces that one of the employees isn't following his stores holiday policy. When he asks for the employee's name, Myron tells him he will talk to him about it privately later.

Eben Johnson once more reiterates his stores policy against refraining from using the words Merry Christmas in his store, from referring to items as holiday decorations or lights to the use of Happy Holidays in his stores advertising, but most importantly, no one is to wish anyone a Merry Christmas.

What Eben Johnson will come to understand this year is just how his store policy may in fact cost him customers and ultimately affect his bottom line in the end.

In the book, Uncle Eben's Christmas, by Stephen Alan Slater, we find out just what Eben believes and why he is so dead-set on making sure Christmas and Christ stay out of his life. He personally feels that all his good deeds he does everyday will ultimately win out over his "sins" anyway. He has nothing to fear. Yet when his bad mood gets the best of him when dealing with his niece about Christmas, he is about to get the surprise of his life.

I received Uncle Eben's Christmas compliments of Bring It On Communications and Deep River Books for my honest review and think this would make for a great Christmas book to add to your collection. It brings about so many questions regarding evolution versus creation in addition to offending other religions with the Christmas greeting. I think this book hits it right on the head and provides more insight into why someone people act the way they do during the Christmas season. This one rates a perfect 5 out of 5 stars!

For more information about this book, the author and where you can purchase a copy of this book, please click on the link below:
Uncle Eben's Christmas by Stephan Alan Slater

 

Uncle Eben's Christmas by Stephen Alan Slater

Uncle Eben's Christmas by Stephen Alan Slater

 This is a modern-day twist to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  Uncle Eben isn't the bah humbug that Scrooge is.  He just doesn't want to include the religious aspect into the Christmas season.  He loves Christmas and gets caught up in it but without the Christ.  He just doesn't want to offend anyone.  A few days before Christmas he meets up with the Witness who shows him his past, present and future if he continues on the road he's on.  It is a very cute fun read for the whole family.  It isn't a real long book only about 100 pages.  The plot and setting moved smoothly and had a Christmas feel about it.  Very easy and quick to read.  I loved it.

A copy of this book was provided by BIO communications for this review

Uncle Eben's Christmas - A Book Review

Uncle Eben's Christmas - A Book Review

Uncle Ebens Christmas by Stephen Alan Slater

From the back cover:

Eben Johnson, the owner of a home-improvement store forbids his employees to say "Merry Christmas", and winds up in a "Christmas Carol" experience, where he faces some sobering realities in a dream - or is it a dream?

Taking a journey into the past, present, and future, Eben gets a more relevant experience than that of the Dickens' story - one that asks an eternal question that we should all ask ourselves: are we individually ready for that which is beyond the grave?

Uncle Even's Christmas looks at the state of an unbeliever who profits from Christmas, yet fives none of the glory to God. It's a story of one man who is surrounded by Christians who he finds as poor, deluded, misguided individuals, yet is in his own bleak sate about to get the wake-up call of a lifetime!

Although Uncle Eben's Christmas has a Christmas Carol feel to it, don't write it off as "been there, read that". Uncle Eben's Christmas goes far beyond a Christmas Carol.

The book starts out by following Uncle Eben around his store, where he is considering firing an employee for saying "Merry Christmas" to a customer. You also read about him spending time with his sister and her 2 children, that adore him, and he them.

Then Uncle Eben is visited by an Angel.

The Angel takes Uncle Eben to the past, in the church where he made the decision NOT to follow Christ. Then shows him how the decision effects his present. And finally, the Angel shows Uncle Eben what his future will be like without a Saviour.

I'll save the ending for you to read. :)

I really enjoyed reading Uncle Eben's Christmas. It is a quick read, at just over a hundred pages. Just the right size for reading during this busy time of the year. It would also make a great family read aloud. There are lots of discussions opportunities available when reading this book.

I recommend Uncle Eben's Christmas for the whole family.

~Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bring it On Communications to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”http://lindaslunacy.blogspot.com/2010/12/uncle-ebens-christmas-book-review.html

Uncle Eben’s Christmas~Review

Uncle Eben’s Christmas~Review

Recently I had the opportunity to read Uncle Eben’s Christmas by Stephen Alan Slater.
Eben Johnson is a business man. He is the owner of a very successful home-improvement store. He loves the Christmas season but not because of it’s true meaning, the birth of Jesus.  He loves it because it brings many customers to his store and the profits it brings him.  Eben is  an atheist.  He does not believe in the Christ of Christmas.
Eben forbids his employees to say “Merry Christmas” to the store customers and insists they say “Happy Holidays” instead.
Eben’s sister Hannah has been praying for Eben to come to Christ for many years to no avail. While Eben attends the annual Christmas Cantata because his niece and nephew are participants he really does not feel comfortable being in church or speaking with the pastor. His mind is on his business and how he can increase his profit margin.
Until Christmas eve when he gets a glimpse into his past, present and future.  This visit is sure to change his life completely!
My Thoughts:
I found this book very enjoyable! It is an easy and fun read and yet delves into the true meaning of Christmas and the choices we make with our eternal lives.
Mr. Slater took the old classic A Christmas Carol and gave it a new twist. Eben has a visitor on Christmas eve that takes him on a journey to his past, present and future.  He sees how bleak his future will be if he continues down the path he is on. These events are life changing for him. He realizes that he needs God and that Jesus is there just waiting for him to invite him into his heart!
Uncle Eben’s Christmas is available at Deep River Books andAmazon.
disclosure: I received this book from Bring It On Communications for review purposes. All opinions and posts on this blog are my own.

Book Review

Uncle Eben's Christmas is a wonderful short novel about a worldly businessman, Eben, and his long journey {and struggle} to accept God into his heart.  Throughout this journey, many people try to help Eben find the Lord, but after many years of praying most are fearful that Eben may never accept Him.  Then one Christmas night, something amazing happens and a Godly visitor shows Eben what his life and fate will be without accepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

I really thought this was a lovely book about one man's quest for salvation.  It shows the reality about how many of us see God and the world before accepting the Lord and how our perspective changes after this blessed event.  I was easily able to relate to the thoughts and feelings of Eben and of his loving family members who only cared for his Salvation.  Many of us have found ourselves in a situation where someone we deeply love is having trouble letting God into their heart, and this is a book that will surely bring you hope for the future.  I know it's done that for me.

The book flowed beautifully and was a very easy read.  It wasn't too wordy at all, and I loved that the occasional Bible passage could be found to make a point within the story.  It's all around a wonderful story about life, family, love, and the greater love that finding God brings.

If you're interested in reading Uncle Eben's Christmas, you can find it on Amazon.com for just $8.80!

Uncle Eben's Christmas

Uncle Eben's Christmas

Uncle Eben's Christmas is a modern-day, Christian retelling of the classic Dickens' tale A Christmas Carol - written by Stephen Alan Slater. (ISBN 978-193526538-2, Deep River Books, 2010, $12.99)

A new fiction twist on the story all of us know - Eben Johnson is the owner of a home-improvement store that is very successful, especially during the holiday season. In order to make sure and not offend any customers, he prohibits his employees from saying, "Merry Christmas." He continues to reject the idea of the Christmas story presented by his sister's church - until one evening he finds himself in the same position of Ebenezer Scrooge - taking a look at his past, present and future - and seeing if maybe he's made the wrong choice.

There is a festive flavor to Uncle Eben's Christmas - a short, 106 page tale for Christmas time. I really liked the cool storytelling method of keeping it in a detached third-person voice. The organization of the chapters and clever chapter titles enhanced the "holiday-special" kind of feel. The price is a bit high for such a slim novel, though.

Eben is a perhaps a less mean, but just as stubborn version of Ebenezer Scrooge. The main message behind the book will most likely only appeal to Christian readers but is an enjoyable Christmas story. It doesn't come off as preachy or pretentious and portrays the characters (Eben, his sister Hannah, his employees, etc.) in a realistic way. Near the end it begins to have a slightly more legalistic tone - but overall has a good message. Stephen Slater's writing ability is not at all lacking and he uses scripture in a great, encouraging way.

I must admit that the cover of Uncle Eben's Christmas leaves something to be desired, though. All the people look like they are from the 90s and its not eye-catching in a good way, sadly. Plus, they make Eben look like he's a lot older than the character actually is (about 30). However, it does give off the vibes of Christmas and hopefully people will check it out as a possible Christmas gift. The texture/feel of the cover is unique and pretty cool - I found myself obsessively touching it. Lol.

If Stephen Alan Slater were to come out with more books, I certainly would look into them. I think it would be his strong suit to see if there are any other classic stories (especially holiday-related) that he could retell in this sort of manner.

In the end I found Uncle Eben's Christmas to be a quick, inspirational, family oriented, sweet story - great for the holidays!

Uncle Eben's Christmas by Stephen Alan Slater

Eben Johnson doesn't believe in Christmas...or any religion. Sure, he went to a few vacation bible school's and youth groups when he was younger, but eventually stopped going altogether.


He's created a successful business and is hopeful that sales will continue to increase the final days before Christmas. He may not carry any religious items in his store, but his reindeers and snowmen are selling well. He also dictates to his staff that they are not to speak the word Christmas. It's politically correct to use the word Holidays. Even when he speaks to one of his cashiers about saying "Have a Merry Christmas", he begins to question himself.


He always goes to his sister's church every year to hear his neice and nephew sing. He loves spoiling them and enjoys watching them perform. But this year one of the children ask Eben why he doesn't go to church or believe in God. Eben snaps at them to mind their own business and goes home. Still confused, Eben awakes from a deep sleep to a voice speaking to him. A new contempary twist on a treasured Christmas classic.


Uncle Eben's Christmas is filled with realistic and warm characters - people you know in your everyday life. The pages almost turn themselves, the writing is so smooth and the story told in such a way to keep your attention. The story is a great one to read to your family this coming holiday season, but the message is strong. Don't take the Christ out of Christmas - don't take Jesus out of your heart. A very warm story that will make a nice addition to any shelf.
*I received a copy of Uncle Eben's Christmas courtesy of Deep River Books