The Christmas Box

by Eve Merriam, David Small (Illustrator)

Eager to see all the presents, the family comes downstairs on Christmas morning to find just one long thin box under the tree.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Born as Eve Moskovitz, American poet and writer

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Christmas Box written by Eve Merriam is a children’s book that has been in our collection of Christmas books since 1995- when my boys were in elementary school. The book is illustrated by David Small, an author best known for his work in writing and illustrating children’s books. He happens to live in Michigan….SW Michigan which is where I live. And he was often a guest at my kids elementary school. We actually have many of his books signed by him.
His books are fun with fun illustrations.
The Christmas Box is about a family, everyone in the family, from Grandma and Grandpa to Whiskers the cat
It’s a book about the fun of family at Christmas and surprises.
It had been a long time since I had read this book and as I was sorting through the Christmas books I came across it so took a few minutes to read it, look at the illustrations and reminisce of when my kids were young and we would snuggle in to read a big pile of books.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at my library and I’m glad I did! This is a cute story about a family coming down on Christmas morning to unwrap gifts and finding only one long, narrow gift instead. What ends up inside is a mystery to everyone! This is a silly, lighthearted story that we enjoyed reading.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little story about Christmas morning!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the vintage illustrations though the story falls a bit short. It was cute, but very superficial.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eve Merriam's 1985 work about a family, so excited to run to the tree that each family member does what they can to get to the bottom of the stairs as quickly as possible. But when they get to the tree, there is only one long box. . .what could be inside.

David Small is the feature artist for this work. I love his composite pictures wherein a whole group of people are portrayed. Small's ability to capture a little personality within each figure is why I--and so many others--are delighted when they stumble upon a book that has his trademark drawings.

[Lisa Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun story about a large family on Christmas morning. They are all so excited, that they rush down to the tree, only to discover that there is only ONE box under the tree - a long thin box. Once it is opened, they discover that there are long thin presents for everyone in the box. Fun illustrations too.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining story about an unusual Christmas present. The story is fun to read aloud and has lots of repetition that will appeal to younger children. But the illustrations by David Small are the highlight of the book. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone is excited to see what gifts are under the Christmas tree, but when they head downstairs, they find only one box. One loooong box. And what's in the box is quite a surprise!

Fun and clever little book, with wonderful David Small illustrations.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic Christmas story with wonderful illustrations by David Small.

[Barb Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this book out of the library for the kids at latch key and they all really enjoyed it ! Fun and a little silly.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever story and the illustrations are 5-star!

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever story and the illustrations are 5-star!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this 1985 Christmas story that is featured around ONE LONG THIN BOX under the tree; that to everyone's amazement has the family presents in it!

[theravenandthewhale]

a fun/ny book!