4.5 stars. This was short and sweet and just so heartwarming! Really enjoyed this one.

I gave this book to my parents many years ago. (Let's see, it was published in 1987, so it may have been thirty years ago.) And I snagged it back from them a few years ago because I wanted to read it. Well, I finally did, and I am going to add some of the stories into my Christmas reading aloud rotation. My favorites are: "The Christmas Story According to Big Matthew" and "No Room At the Inn."

I had to look it up. Leo Buscalia, the Love professor at USC, died in 1998 of a heart attack, which, of course, is ironic.

All 7 were pretty good.

You cannot go wrong with a book that begins with an immigrant story set with the clash of cultures in LA's Boyle Heights. Buscaglia came from a family that really did say things like "a nice-a dish of ravioli".

In the first story, Leo is was a boy, and in the last he has a quintuple by-pass. My favorite story was when the famous love professor went to Bali.

Used to watch Leo Buscaglia lecture on love on public television.
He related a story of when he was hospitalized and family and friends
brought him his favorite foods to enjoy. One dish was a popular Italian
one which is polenta. I never knew they put a lemon juice, zest sugar
mixture on it. It sounded good.

This is a very enjoyable, quick Christmas read!

A book I could read every Christmas to remind me how precious the season of Christmas truly is.

This book features the following short stories about the author's Christmas memories:

A Christmas Morning Memory - A story about Leo's poor Italian immigrant family and a lesson in forgiveness and love.

Two Festivals of Light - Leo and his family share Christmas dinner with their new Jewish neighbors.

A Gift of Ravioli - When Leo was a boy, he had a crush on the public librarian. He only had some of his mother's homemade ravioli to give her at Christmas, but that was enough.

The Christmas Story According to Big Matthew - A humorous story about Leo directing the Christmas pageant when he was a young elementary school teacher.

A Santa Suit Does Not a Santa Claus Make - Leo is recruited to be the school Santa Claus when the school custodian fell ill.

No Room at the Inn - Leo shares the Christmas story during a magical trip to Bali on Christmas Eve.

The Christmas That Almost Wasn't - Leo finds himself in the hospital recovering from a heart attack and quintuple heart bypass surgery on Christmas day, 1992. This does not stop him from spreading love to fellow members of the "Open Heart Club."

I remember watching Dr. Leo Buscaglia on PBS and reading his books in the 1980s. When I saw this book at the library sale, I was immediately drawn to it. This little book does an amazing job defining the true meaning of Christmas. The author tells how each of the Christmas memories he shared in this book reinforced his beliefs in the value of caring and love.

I can't choose a favorite story from this book...I loved them all. The illustrations are lovely and add value to the stories.

The spirit of Christmas is love. Each of the seven stories in this book emphasized the importance of family, friendship, caring, sharing and love. "Dr. Love" was a great inspiration to all who heard him speak and read his books.

I highly recommend this book to older children and adults.
It is a short book that packs a mighty punch. You will want to read it each year to remind you of the true meaning of the season.

Wonderful stories of the importance of living the Christmas spirit 365 days a year.

Loved the stories..& the illustrations for each story

A little gem of a book. The stories encompass Leo's childhood in a poor immigrant family, his years as a young teacher and an exquisite tale of an enchanted Christmas in Bali. A.

I enjoyed these little stories from Leo Buscaglia's past.