The Gift of the Magi [BOX SET] (Hardcover)

by O. Henry (Author), Kevin King (Illustrator) "One dollar and eighty-seven cents..." (more)

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Gr. 5 and up. A classic story becomes a picture book for older readers in this oversize edition. Heyer's paintings reflect the turn-of-the-century setting and are nicely executed, if occasionally stiff. Because the protagonists are both adults, there will not be automatic appeal for younger children, but preteens, and especially teenagers, should find the romantic appeal that has been apparent to previous generations of readers. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 23 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Library Binding edition (September 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671647067
• ISBN-13: 978-0671647063
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,173,626 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An encouragement, exquisite story, April 15, 2002

By	Ikumi (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews

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

The Gift of Magi is an O. Henry�fs classic Christmas story that is about a couple, Jim and Della, who loved each other. They were very poor people, but they wanted to buy a Christmas gift for each other. They did not have enough money, so they decided to sell their important things to buy a gift. Della wanted to buy a gold chain for Jim�fs gold watch, but she didn�ft have enough money. Instead, she cut her hair that was her pride, and sold it. And Jim, whose watch was great and really expensive, sold it to buy the combs that Della had wanted for a long time. So as a result, their Christmas day was not happy at all. This story�fs ending is not happy, but I like this story�fs classic theme and plot. I think that this book has good theme and plot though they are simple. This is interesting and a well organized story. We can learn cultures of American from reading O. Henry�fs short stories about Americanes.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exquisite little story, December 18, 2000

By	Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

Especially when you are young, short stories seem like they should have some tremendous payoff at the end, if for no other reason than to justify their very brevity. Or perhaps that is simply a function of the fact that we all grow up reading the great tales of O. Henry. And of all those stories and of all those shocking payoffs, there is perhaps no other twist quite like the one at the end of Gift of the Magi.

Jim and Della Young are a wretchedly poor young married couple. Della has just $1.87 to buy a Christmas gift for Jim and between them they have precious little of any value:

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out of the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

Well, you either know the rest or else I wouldn't want to ruin it for you. Suffice it to say that O. Henry leaves us with the following thought:

The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men-who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

This exquisite little story beautifully captures the spirit of the season. It's one for the whole family to enjoy as, with warmth and wit, it imparts the age old lesson about it being better to give than to receive.

GRADE: A+

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A poignant Christmas story about the human love, September 30, 1999

By A Customer

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

In the Gift of the Magi, a young woman sells her most precious property to buy a beautiful Chirstmas gift for her husband. This story is really poignant and the reader feels just like Della. It's a story about love, the real love, the one which passes the material reality. What's more like in many O. Henry's story, we are the witness of his famous surprise endings. This gives the novel a double interest.