A Children's Literary Christmas: An Anthology

by Anna James (Editor)

Immerse yourself in festive magic with this brand-new collection of the finest Christmas stories and poetry for children from some of the greatest writers in the English language. Inspired by the approach and style of A Literary Christmas, this carefully chosen anthology celebrates the wonders of the Christmas season, following the escapades of Santa Claus and adventures of the frost fairies. Divided into five sections, this anthology of historical and modern stories covers festive traditions, fairytales, gift-giving, and family fun. Timeless favorites from Charles Dickens, Clement C. Moore, and Louisa May Alcott are presented alongside award-winning and contemporary voices, such as Matt Haig, Swapna Haddow, and Shirley Hughes. This treasure trove of extracts is beautifully presented with illustrations from the collections of the Library as well as a few pieces of original artwork.

Genres: Christmas, Short Stories, Childrens, Holiday, Poetry, Middle Grade, Fiction

160 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2020

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection to read at Christmastime. I discovered several Christmas stories I didn't know about that I now want to read. It's also a beautiful book, which is a bonus.

[Ashley Bowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer the previous anthology in this series because it has more poems and is more suited to an older audience. This one, however, improves the reader experience since the editor added a brief comment on each of the chosen pieces of literature that provided historical context, notes on the author, and a summary of the key ideas. Important to note that this book contains only extracts of stories, which some children might find frustrating. Overall, a joyful book to share with children during the festive period.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to classic, mostly British, children's literature. Some of the extracts end abruptly and the book is probably better suited for adults interested in British literature and Christmas traditions throughout the years. I enjoyed it!

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

the selection was rather haphazard and remarkably many typos, but still there were many classic gems that shone through.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter and i really enjoyed this book. It's a shame there were so many glaring typos in the final extract.

[Gill James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very attractive book. It has an inviting cover and is easy to hold. Tthere are some lovely illustrations. Anna James' choice of stories is excellent. However, a child reading it may be frustrated that the complete stories aren't there but there are only extracts. Maybe it will make them go and seek the full version. I was a little put off by some stories starting on navy blue pages followed by an orange page. Nevertheless, this is a book I shall keep.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book and would make an excellent present.
My favorites stories were:
The Box of Magic
A Child's Christmas
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
A Christmas Carol
Anne of Green Gables
Little Women
The Best Christmas Present in the World
The House at Pooh Corner

[Carolyn Lilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving Christmas as I do, this is a truly beautiful book with absolutely gorgeous excerpts from a range of stories. I only wish my children were younger so I could read these stories to them throughout the festive season.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very attractive illustrations and excellent quality.

[David Crumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delight to hold and to enjoy
The British Library, the equivalent of our Library of Congress, has a robust publishing program that produces lovely volumes of classics with a special focus on British writers as well as a host of other materials from festive napkins to other literary paraphernalia. They even produce a book-shaped "Advent calendar" that customers can fill with treats for Advent. Think of the Smithsonian in terms of the output of intriguing materials for sale with reminders of the scope of the Smithsonian's holdings. In this case, the UK publishing program is intended to celebrate gems from the British Library.
I ran across a reference to this book via a friend in Goodreads and, because my wife and I love Christmas books, I decided to order a copy in February. We treasure our "Christmas books" and bring them out for the last two months of each year to enjoy. We especially love books that are as lovely to hold and enjoy together as they are enticing in their content.
And who could argue with this collection?
The book opens with a surprising choice for a British Library collection: "A Visit from St. Nicholas," credited to New York-based scholar Clement Moore. But what follows definitely takes us across the Atlantic. There's an excerpt from Dickens (the final passage of Christmas Carol), a few pages from Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales, two pieces from the legendary British children's author E. Nesbit and snippets from A.A. Milne and Kenneth Grahame as well.
We're especially pleased, as lifelong Oz fans, that a piece from L. Frank Baum's Christmas writing is included.
What really charms us about this book is the feel of the hardcover edition. The matte dust jacket is wonderful to hold in your hands, then most pages have some kind of illustration, whether black and white or in color. It's the sort of book that's a pleasure to pull off the shelves to read a piece aloud.
We already have the British Library's similar (and equally lovely) A Literary Christmas from 2018 as well as Christmas Traditions from 2020. We have not ordered the 2022 Stories for Christmas and the Festive Season, because it's only available in Kindle and, as I've already said, our enjoyment of these books involves holding them in our hands. Perhaps the British Library will add a print edition of the new book for this year.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of Christmas (and winter) themed literature for children by the British Library and Anna James. The collection is arranged into five themes - including Father Christmas, families and gift giving. Each theme was beautifully arranged. For example, it was wonderful to read the ‘Family Celebrations’ section which was arranged by date order so that the reader could experience Christmas from Victorian times through to 2013. I found it fascinating to see how, though we have changed over time, the fundamental aspects (family, love, kindness, giving, magic and wonder) of Christmas never really change.

The thing I liked most about this collection was discovering some of the lesser known stories written by some of the best authors of children’s literature. It was exciting to find that my favourite authors of children’s novels had published lots of shorter fiction.

Of course there were lots of classics in there too, I was thrilled to find extracts from my two favourite children’s classic novels: Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. I can’t recommend these novels more highly.

I was surprised to find that some of my favourite stories were written more recently, especially the Malorie Blackman story which I thought was excellent.

[Marci Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection was a bit confusing to me with the inclusion of full chapters from the middle of other books. It was a bit like only watching the Christmas episodes of a show you’ve never seen. I skipped most of those and enjoyed the short stand-alones. And I added one star for the beautiful book design.

[Renata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming edition with lovely illustrations. Like one of the reviewers below, it may not be suitable for all children who would want to read the entire books featured, rather than excerpts. Bit a lovely volume which would make for a fine gift for children and adults.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is mostly excerpts of books, rather than stories, so it seems that many of the stories or excerpts end too abruptly. However, this contains one of the best Christmas stories I've ever read: Michael Morpurgo's "The Best Christmas Present in the World".

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a festive book. I know that it states that it is a children’s book but I enjoyed it just the same as an adult and I don;t think that I’m the only one. Wonderful book to curl up with by the fire during the holidays. A must-read for any Christmas fans and lover of books!

[Vonprice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful selection of Christmas related reading for children, or for children and adults to share.
My full review is here: https://vsviewfromthebookshelves.home...

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of festive and wintery excerpts from classic children’s stories.

[Joy Blaser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good selections. Some of the stories were cut off in odd places (A Kidnapped Santa Claus).

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable short stories. Unique layout. Charming art. And historical depiction of the years past in celebration of winter and Christmas.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how this author has taken chapters from different books to make this collection. It is just fun to read soany different takes on the Christmas season.

[Libby Bork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just adorable and fun. Beautifully illustrated and decorated. Introduced me to multiple books that I would absolutely love to read.

[Ilina Jha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very lovely, heartwarming Christmassy collection! I've discovered some wonderful new tales and snippets from novels that I will now need to read in full.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hopeful for a higher rating for this book. Because pulling put snippets from books, poems, novellas, all centered around Christmas is a great idea. And perfect for this time of year.

However, some of the tales pulled were ones that lacked context....or frankly needed to be different ones (there was an obvious British bent which, I hate to say, some readers won't enjoy).