This is Day 3 of our family’s Five Favorite Christmas stories, and today’s read-aloud story is perfect for the young boy or girl in your life who is hoping for a puppy or a kitten (or rabbit, gerbil, parakeet, etc!) for Christmas. There just seems to be something a little magical about finding a puppy under the tree on Christmas morning!

One of our favorite stories is The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy, written by Jane Thayer. In this charming tale of role reversal, you will read about a small puppy named Petey who tells his mother he wants a boy for Christmas. Petey’s mother, acknowledging he has been a good puppy that year, suggests that perhaps he could have a boy for Christmas. However, finding just the right boy for Petey turns out to be more challenging than they expected.

Finally Petey decides to ask some of the other dogs he knows if they would be willing to give their boy to him. This begins Petey’s Christmas adventure as he searches for just the right boy for Christmas. His journey comes to quite an unexpected end as his Christmas wish comes true in a way he never imagined!

In our family, a puppy found its way under our Christmas tree in 1993, when our sons were 3 and 5 years old – and Sparky became a beloved member of our family for the next 17 years. While growing up, this story by Jane Thayer was one our children always requested we read to them. I hope your family will enjoy this story as well, with our without a puppy under your Christmas tree!