8 h 57 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What makes Christmas bright when there is little to give?
The Children's Book of Christmas Stories gathers tales of giving, waiting, and hardship eased by kindness. Asa Don Dickinson and Ada M. Skinner bring many writers together in a collection meant for sharing. Stories of the Nativity sit beside lighter pieces that invite laughter, making room for both quiet reflection and holiday cheer.
Here, generosity matters more than wealth. The collection moves among different voices and traditions rather than following a single hero through one long plot. Its main strands—kindness, expectation, religious storytelling, and humor—offer families and classrooms a choice of moods. Read a story aloud, leave room for a pause, and let its Christmas spirit unfold.
What you’ll discover
- Kindness in hard times Meet stories where hardship finds relief through the care and generosity of others.
- The pleasure of giving Explore a holiday idea that places a generous heart above material wealth.
- Nativity and holiday laughter Find Nativity tales alongside lighter pieces, with space for reflection as well as laughter.
- Many voices to share Move between writers and traditions, discovering different ways to tell a Christmas story.
- A story read aloud Enjoy short tales meant for children's ears, shared around a fire or in a classroom.
Who will love it
Readers who love Christmas tales of every kind, from fairy stories and legends to scenes of neighbors helping neighbors. It suits families who like reading aloud by the fire, and anyone who enjoys short stories with a warm heart.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Dancing, Dreaming and a Mayor's Masquerade
- Small Gifts That Change a Life
- Magic Caps, Legends and a Scarecrow
- Birds, Sisters, Shoes and an Alley
- Stars, Schoolgirls and a Dickens Dinner
- Flats, Legends and a Barn Tree
- Trees, Wars and a Snowed-In Cabin
- Lonely Holidays and Winter Kindness
- What the Stories Share and How They Sound
Who’s who
- TeigA miser in a cabin who hoards gold and turns away every visitor until fairy magic carries him across Europe.
- ToinetteA moody, dreamy girl who wishes she could be invisible and learns what her brothers and sisters really think of her.
- Peggy BrowerA hardworking fifteen-year-old who serves the whole family at Christmas and quietly longs for a vacation of her own.
- Little WolffA poor orphan with a stingy aunt who gives one of his wooden shoes to a barefoot child outside the church.
- Jimmy ScarecrowA young scarecrow who feels useless in winter and hopes Santa Claus will notice him in the cornfield.
- Betty LutherA schoolgirl stuck at boarding school over Christmas who finds that helping others is the best way to fight loneliness.
- Mr. CarterA rich, rule-bound philanthropist who misses his lost terrier Skiddles and goes searching for him on Christmas Eve.
- Willie BarnesA resourceful boy on the prairie who promises to take care of his mother and tries to make Christmas dinner from nothing.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 57 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Das Weihnachtsgeschichtenbuch für Kinder
by Asa Don Dickinson; Ada M. Skinner (Hrsg.)
Old Fezziwig clears his warehouse for a Christmas Eve dance, and a fir tree dreams of growing taller.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What do you do with what you have when someone nearby has nothing? This book asks that quiet question thirty-five times.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Dancing, Dreaming and a Mayor's Masquerade
The book opens in a warehouse on Christmas Eve. Old Fezziwig, the kind employer from the Dickens tale, tells his clerks to put away the work. The shutters go up, a fiddler climbs the high desk, and the whole household pours in to dance.
Then comes the sad fairy tale of the fir tree, which wants only to be taller and cannot enjoy what it has. After it, a Mayor invites every child in his city to a costume ball. The costumes will not come off, and each child acts like the character chosen. The city's comfortable order turns upside down.
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What is The Children's Book of Christmas Stories about?
It is a collection of thirty-five Christmas stories, legends and short scenes from many authors and countries. Most are about people who share what little they have, with fairies, elves, Santa Claus and the Christ Child appearing along the way.
Which authors are in this Christmas story collection?
The collection includes Charles Dickens, Hans Christian Andersen, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Olive Thorne Miller, Francois Coppee, J.H. Ewing, Katherine Pyle and Elia W. Peattie, along with several lesser-known writers and some anonymous or adapted folk tales.
Is this book good for reading aloud to children?
Yes, it suits reading aloud very well.
The author
Asa Don Dickinson
1876–1960 · American librarian and writer
Asa Don Dickinson (1876–1960) was an American librarian and editor. He worked at the University of the Punjab in Lahore, then in British India, in 1915 and 1916. With Ada M. Skinner, he edited The Children's Book of Christmas Stories, published in 1913.
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