Christmas doesn't seem quite right without stories and carols around the tree, with remembrances of years past. It's the perfect time for stories, since it's already a time so full of magic, winter snow, and everything that reminds us that belief is still possible.
1. Christmas Books
by Charles Dickens, Eleanor Farjeon (Editor). Oxford University Press. This collection includes 5 novels by Charles Dickens: "A Christmas Carol," "The Chimes," "The Haunted Man," "The Cricket on the Hearth," and "The Battle of Life."
2. A Family Christmas Sampler
Brilliance Audio. As an audio collection of Christmas stories, "A Family Christmas Sampler" provides the complete readings of "A Christmas Carol," "The Gift of the Magi," "Is There A Santa Claus," "A Visit From Saint Nicholas," "A Winter Walk," "The Seven Poor Travelers," "The Fir Tree," "Santa Claus at Simpson's Bar," and "What Christmas Is As We Grow Older."
3. Southern Christmas: Literary Classics of the Holidays
by Judy Long. Hill Street Press. From the publisher: "The best in southern literature about Christmas 28 fiction and nonfiction holiday classics spanning 150 years, from the heartwarming to the hard-edged."4. The Midwinter Music : A Scottish Anthology for the Festive Season
by Marjory Greig (Editor), and Marjorie Wilson (Editor). State Mutual Book and Periodical Service. From the publisher: "A winter anthology packed with seasonal delights. Traditional and modern Scottish poems, carols, songs, stories, prayers, music, recipes and customs, interspersed with delightful illustrations."5. Flight of the Reindeer: The True Story of Santa Claus
by Robert Sullivan. Wiley, John & Sons, Inc. From the publisher: "The fact is, solid evidence abounds - from scientists, historians, Arctic explorers and other experts - that this is not a legend at all, and that the children have been right all along. In Flight of the Reindeer, Robert Sullivan has gathered a wealth of evidence, including photos, illustrations and eyewitness accounts."6. A Treasury of African-American Christmas Stories
by Bettye Collier-Thomas (Editor), and James Reynolds (Illustrator). Henry Holt and Company. From the publisher: "First published in literary journals and black-owned newspapers, these stories are written by political leaders, activists, and visionaries, among them Ida B. Wells Barnett, T. Thomas Fortune, and Fannie Barrier Williams."7. A Treasury of Christmas Classics
by Charles Dickens, George MacDonald, Hans Christian Andersen, and others. WaterBrook Press. This collection includes stories, poems, hymns, and prayers.8. Child's Christmas in Wales
by Dylan Thomas, and Fritz Eichenberg (Editor). New Directions Publishing. From the publisher: "With lovely poetic lilt, this simple tale captures the child's eye-view and an adult's warm remembrance of the time of presents, good things to eat, and, in the best of circumstances, newly-fallen snow."9. Jane Austen's Christmas: The Festive Season in Georgian England
by Jane Austen, and Maria Hubert (Compiler). Sutton Publishing. This collection includes selections from Jane Austen, Robert Southey, John Clare, and Sir Walter Scott. Maria Hubert draws from "Mansfield Park," "Lady Susan," "Emma," poetry, letters, and more.10. The Roads from Bethlehem : Christmas Literature from Writers
by Pegram Johnson (Editor) and Edna M. Troiano (Editor. Westminster John Knox Press. This book offers 100 pieces of literary writings, including Scripture, prose, and poetry from China, Syria, Great Britain, and the United States.