A Children's Literary Christmas: An Anthology by Anna James

A Children's Literary Christmas: An Anthology Reviews

• 
  Lynn

  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.
• 
  Elisabeth

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

  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
• 
  David Crumm

  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.
• 
  Gill James

  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.
• 
  Marci

  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

  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

  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".
• 
  Rae

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

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

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

  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.
• 
  Sophie Crane

  Very attractive illustrations and excellent quality.