A Charlie Christmas — D.W. Cantrell

It's Easter morning when it happens: Charlie is gardening and stumbles upon a brown, palm-sized frog underneath a clot of dirt. He's astonished to discover that the frog not only has a name-Todd Thomas Iii-but it also talks! The two try to understand one another, but the frog often takes Charlie's words too literally, and Charlie struggles to understand the world of speaking animals that the frog says exists. Even Charlie's cat, Clyde, can talk, the frog claims. But that is nothing compared to what Todd Thomas Iii says next: He's a magical frog and can grant Charlie three wishes-but he needs to use them by the end of the summer. While Charlie isn't sure what to believe at first, he starts to trust after finding out that his cat can, in fact, talk. He even learns that Clyde and Todd are friends. The wishes are for Charlie alone, and he'll need to think long and hard before going back to Todd Thomas Iii to make his first one: to be there for the very first Christmas.