The Children's Book of Christmas Stories

by Asa Don Dickinson (Editor), Charles Dickens, Hans Christian Andersen

Many librarians have felt the need and expressed the desire for a select collection of children's Christmas stories in one volume. This book claims to be just that and nothing more. Each of the stories has already won the approval of thousands of children, and each is fraught with the true Christmas spirit. It is hoped that the collection will prove equally acceptable to parents, teachers, and librarians. (Summary from Book Preface)


01 Christmas At Fezziwig's Warehouse Charles Dickens
02 The Fir-Tree Hans Christian Andersen
03 Christmas Masquerade, The Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
04 Shepherds And The Angels, The King James Version (KJV)
05 The Tell Tale Tile Olive Thorne Miller
06 Little Girl's Christmas Winnifred E. Lincoln
07 A Christmas Matinee M. A. L. Lane
08 Toinette And The Elves Susan Coolidge
09 The Voyage Of The Wee Red Cap Ruth Sawyer
10 A Story Of The Christ-Child. Elizabeth Harkison
11 Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
12 Why The Chimes Rang Raymond McAlden
13 The Birds' Christmas F. E. Mann
14 The Little Sister's Vacation Winifred M. Kirkland
15 Little Wolff's Wooden Shoes François Coppée
16 Christmas In The Alley Olive Thorne Miller
17 A Christmas Star Katherine Pyle
18 The Queerest Christmas Grace Margaret Gallaher
19 Old Father Christmas Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing
20 A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens
21 How Christmas Came To The Santa Maria Flats Elia Wilkinson Peattie
22 The Legend Of Baboushka Unknown
23 Christmas In The Barn F. Arnstein
24 The Philanthropist's Christmas James Weber Linn
25 The First Christmas Tree Lucy Wheelock
26 The First New England Christmas G. L. Stone
27 The Cratchits' Christmas Dinner. Charles Dickens
28 Christmas In 1776 Anne Hollingsworth Wharton
29 Christmas Under The Snow Olive Thorne Miller
30 Mr. Bluff's Experiences Of Holidays Oliver Bell Bunce
31 Master Sandy's Snap-Dragon Eldridge S. Brooks
32 A Christmas Fairy John Strange Winter
33 The Greatest Of These Joseph Mills Hanson
34 Little Gretchen And The Wooden Shoe Harrison
35 Christmas On Big Rattle Theodore Goodridge Roberts

Genres: Christmas, Childrens, Audiobook, Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Holiday

Audiobook

First published January 1, 1913

Reviews

[Carol, She's so Novel ꧁꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are reading a selection of stories from this book at Retro Reads. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

You are welcome to join us!

We started with A Christmas Matinee by M.A.L. Lane.
So touching and with lots of good messages - not the least was that it feels good to do the right thing. I had tears in my eyes at the end! 5★

The Queerest Christmas by Grace Margaret Gallagher
I had tears in my eyes again. What was so lovely was that Betty didn't realise she had done anything special. Heartwarming 4.5★

The Telltale Tile by Olive Thorne Miller.
I found the writing a little awkward in this story, but it was still a very sweet tale. 3.5★

Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe by Elizabeth Harrison More tears! But I liked that the outcome for Gretchen was realistic. & Gretchen was so sweet. 5★

The Philanthropist's Christmas by James Weber Linn
I liked that the resolution had a little bit of the unexpected. Mr Carter does want his dog back, but leaves Skiddles with Bill until he can organise a replacement. 4★

The Chimes I thought The Chimes was beautiful. Once again I cried. 4.5★

https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts strong with The Fezziwig Christmas Party, got maudlin with Andersen's The Fir Tree, and then . . . piddled about with some of the most banal, maudlin, or downright weird copyright free Christmas stories I have ever heard. So many children giving up their only shoe or bent penny to an even poorer child, only to find it was really the Christ Child all along. The collection is padded out by no less than three excerpts from A Christmas Carol.

You know, in her Christmas story collections, Connie Willis talks about the dreadful old Christmas movies like All Mine to Give, and children being cast for their ability to cough and look pitiful, and she talks about The Fir Tree specifically, but I hadn't really understood what she was talking about, until now!

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying I didn’t read all the stories in this collection. Some I’d already read and wasn’t interested in rereading, others I wasn’t interested at all in. So I’m only going to be reviewing the stories I did read. I'm just rating it 3 stars because of all the stories I skipped.

The Telltale Tile
This was a sweet story. Miss Bennett was such a dear lady and Hetty was lovely. A story I’d be happy to read again.

A Christmas Matinee
I don’t think the title fits the story well, but it doesn’t matter. I really liked this story. There was just something about Maidie’s honesty and care that made me love her.

The Little Sister’s Vacation
Oh, Peggy! I wanted to give her a hug and tell a few people a few things. I’ve felt a tiny bit of what she felt and so found my sympathies strongly with her. The ending was just right.

Christmas in the Alley
I wasn’t sure if I’d like this one or not, but I did. I liked Ann’s cheerfulness even when things were the blackest, and I loved her for caring for others who were even worse off than she was.

The Queerest Christmas
What a dear story. Serving others and doing what you can to help them is not always shown in stories, so I enjoyed it. If you enjoy stories about boarding school and not getting home for Christmas, you might want to read it.

How Christmas Came to the Santa Maria Flats
Some of this story was fun, but there was a heavy emphasis on Santa Clause and no mention of the real reason for Christmas. I probably won’t read this again.

Christmas in the Barn
A cute little story about a boy wanting to provide Christmas for the animals in the barn.

The Philanthropist’s Christmas
I read this story in another collection but liked it enough to read it again. No, the real meaning of Christmas is not mentioned at all, and Santa Clause is talked about, but the change in Mr. Carter made me enjoy the story anyway.

Christmas Under the Snow
An interesting tale of a Christmas out on the prairie.

Master Sandy’s Snapdragon
Not a favorite even though it is English history about King James (yes, the King James who had the Bible printed) and his sons.

The Greatest of These
I enjoyed this story. Charlie and Nels made me smile. I enjoyed Nels’ accent too. And their way of spending Christmas Eve . . . well, I won’t spoil the story.

Christmas on Big Rattle
There wasn’t much to this story, but it was good.

[Olivia's Bookish Places & Spaces · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read via audiobook.

Wow! What a complete and utter disappointment!

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE the holidays. I'm a massive decorator, cookie baker, avid Hallmark movie watcher and all-around holiday junkie. One of the things I enjoy is reading books that are set during certain times of the year and reading those kinds of books during certain times. I especially do this with Christmas stories as I think they can really set the mood. When I saw that this was a popular book with many well-known authors I figured why not? Unfortunately, there are Hallmark movies with better plots then these stories.

First off, the selection is just terrible all around. Some of the stories were downright depressive or cheesy and over the top. There were a few good ones here and there but on the whole they were really dull and dreary.

I would say skip this selection and put on the Hallmark channel instead.

[Dee Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Audible sale (#6 of 40) 8 hours 35 min. Narrated by Daniel Thomas May (A+)

This is a collection of 32 short stories written by various English, American, and Canadian writers from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Yes, included were two short pieces of "A Christmas Carol" by C. Dickens and "The Little Fir Tree" by Hans Christian Andersen, but the majority were nostalgic glimpses into Christmas from other eras. It was wonderful to listen to different voices given to the multitude of characters by narrator D.T. May from British boys, girls, Scottish King James, to a Scandinavian farmer in the Dakota territory. I truly appreciate the work that Asa Don Dickinson put into this collection completed and first published in 1913 long before the internet. Just about every aspect of Christmas was covered from the secular to the sacred.The only reason this did not rate a 5 star from me is the lack of a table of contents with the names of the authors! so I will attempt one myself!

11 Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (US)
12 Why the Chimes Rang by Raymond Macdonald Alden (US) 1909
13 The Bird's Christmas by F. E. Mann
14 The Little Sister's Vacation by Winifred Kirkland (US)
15 Little Wolf's Wooden Shoes by Francois Cophe
16 Christmas in the Ally by Olive Thorne Miller
17 A Christmas Star by Katherine Pyle (US)
18 The Queerest Christmas by Grace Margaret Gallaher (US)
19 Old Father Christmas by Juliana Horacia Ewing (England)
20 The Crachitt's Christmas Goose by Charles Dickens
21 How Christmas Came to the Santa Maria Flats by Elia W. Peattie (US)
22 The Legend of Old Babushka adapted from Russian legend
23 Christmas In the Barn by F. Arnstein
24 The Philanthropist's Christmas by James Weber Linn (US)
25 The First Christmas Tree by Lucy Wheelock (only 2 minutes)
26 The First New England Christmas by G.L.Stone
27 The Crachitt's Christmas Dinner by Charles Dickens (England)
28 Christmas in 1776 by Ann Hollinsworth Warten
29 Christmas Under the Snow by Olive Thorne Miller pseudonym (US)
30 Mr. Bluff's Experiences of Holidays by Oliver Bell Bunce (US)
31 Master Sandy's Snapdragon by Eldridge Streeter Brooks (US)
32 A Christmas Fairy by John Strange Winter pseudonym of Henrietta Stannard (England/France)
33 The Greatest of These by Joseph Mills Hansen (US)
34 Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe by Elizabeth Harriison (Germany) Available on YouTube
35 Christmas on Big Rattle by Theodore Goodrich Roberts (Canada)

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, THIS brought the wonder of Christmas to me these winter days of 2021. From commonly known classics to new -- or at least new to me -- stories, themes of magic, generosity, belief, and gratitude were prevalent throughout this collection. I appreciated how these were not maudlin or sentimental in tone; in fact, many of these stories address issues of justice, loss, and humility. Whether you read these quietly by yourself or aloud to loved ones, you'll take delight in these stories. I know, I did a bit of both over these past two weeks. While I enjoyed catching up with friends and family from a distance, I missed many of our traditional gatherings. I believe I'll now add reading these stories as a new tradition.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had some really nice Christmas stories. The book was put together in the early 1900s. There was a story from the time of King James of England in the 1600s, and a story placed near Trenton New Jersey in 1776, during the American Revolution. The language usage was interesting, as were the traditions over the years and different cultures.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this a year ago and for some reason didn't shelve it. I've marked it as dnf as I didn't listen to every story. Some of the tales were interesting. Others not so much.

[Meg GlitteryOtters · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Gail DiVico · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audible and found it very enjoyable and entertaining. Some of the stories I have never heard before and look forward to adding them to my holiday reading next year. Also, though it is geared for children, I would encourage adults to listen to and/or read this, as well. The stories are fairly short but are a wonderful way to spend an evening or two. Highly recommend.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the free Christmas Audible Plus offerings--the girls and I listened to this collection while working on puzzles. The quality of the stories varied, and the narrator was solid but not outstanding. It made for a nice accompaniment to other activities, but didn't stand out as particularly memorable.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Asa Don Dickinson (Ed.) (2012) THE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF CHRISTMAS STORIES (AUDIOBOOK)
Audible - Audible Studios

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 out of 5 stars

Audible writes, "The Children's Book of Christmas Stories is a wonderful assortment of 35 Christmas-themed tales chosen by editor Asa Dickinson. Authors include Charles Dickens (Christmas at Fezziwig's Warehouse), Hans Christian Andersen (The Fir-Tree), Susan Coolidge (Toinette and the Elves), and Elizabeth Harrison (A Story of the Christ-Child). Whether it is for children, or for family gatherings, everyone is sure to be captivated and enthralled!"
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[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars (liked it)

A nice variety of 35 Christmas stories which are also available on the Gutenberg website:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5061/...

[Briana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good Christmas book. However there are a few stories that are boring.

[Paul Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see Christmas through the ages, a good perspective to where Christmas came for to where it currently is

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any compilation, some of these stories were good and others not so good. Some were known to me but others were new. Reading this has encouraged me to read more of the children's books I have.

[Sharon Contillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice book with a good variety of stories and story lengths. Perfect to read with children at Christmas time.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories are nice. Some are downright weird, some a little depressing.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stand-out from this collection of short stories is Hans Christian Andersen's "The Fir Tree," which, in describing Christmas from the point of view of the tree, is horrifying and grotesque.