The Gift of the Magi [Hardcover]

O. Henry (Author), Carol Heyer (Illustrator)

Book Description

the classic story of giving is beautifully retold with breathtaking illustrations by an award-winning artist.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

O. Henry's classic tale of Della and Jim, the struggling newlyweds so anxious to give each other a Christmas gift that each sells the one thing the other holds most dear, receives an oddly lifeless treatment here. Heyer's meticulously detailed illustrations are pretty but stilted; the characters look like mannequins. The rueful Jim fares better than poor prematurely middle-aged Della, who at times looks more like his mother than his wife. Still, the story is as touching as ever, and neither time nor mediocre artwork can dim its glory. All ages.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up–An illustrated, unabridged version of the classic short story in which a young husband and wife each, unbeknownst to the other, gives up a most treasured possession to buy the other a wonderful gift. The gifts, of course, are useless as a result, but the couple's love is presumably all the stronger. The sepia-toned watercolors have an authentic period look; the details present in the New York City street scenes and the couple's rather shabby apartment add a strong feeling of time and place to the story. Very different in style from Lisbeth Zwerger's lovely and delicate version (S & S, 2006), this is a fine choice for libraries needing another illustrated edition of this Christmas tale.–Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Ideals Childrens Books; 1st edition (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571020039
• ISBN-13: 978-1571020031
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,738,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this story., February 9, 2011

By 

jencheryi - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gift of the Magi (Kindle Edition)

This is a short story that I read over a decade ago for the first time, and it has stuck with me since then. In the story, it is Christmastime, and we meet the two main characters, a young married couple who have each other and very little else, except the husband's (Jim's) heirloom pocketwatch and the wife's (Della's) hair. In a despirate attempt to provide a worthy present for her beloved husband, Della sells her knee-length hair to buy a gold chain for the pocketwatch. Little does she know, Jim has done something just as extreme for her. This is an inspiring tale that, despite its simplicity, speaks volumes about the sacrifices we willingly make for those we truly love.

36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great quick read, October 21, 2010

By 

Sarah B. (Manchester, MI) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Gift of the Magi (Kindle Edition)

This is a classic story that was assigned reading material my freshman year of high school. Understated story, very well-written. The Kindle version is nice and I have no complaints with formatting.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, but Incomplete, September 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gift of the Magi (Hardcover)

This is a classic Christmas story in our family and is linked to many Christmas traditions; however, I was disappointed in this copy because of its "editing." Many parts of the original story were missing for no apparent reason. I did, however, find the illistrations lovely and would recommend this book for that reason.