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87 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great children's stories. Make sure to buy the new edition!, December 30, 2001
It is not surprising the creator of Middle Earth, and the father of the fantasy genre, would create such an elaborate, creative collection of Christmas stories for his children. This book is a nice addition to my library, as it contains the text of the letters, as well as Tolkien's hand-drawn illustrations and North Pole post markings. While this book does not relate to his Middle Earth universe, it is easy to recognize the origin of some of its characters. The goblin attack on Santa's cellar presages the Goblin-Elf wars in Lord of the Rings. Santa's elf-secretary Ilbereth is the obvious progenitor of the ancient elf-queen Elbereth. We even get a glimpse of elvish writing and the goblin alphabet! If you have the chance, buy the new revised version of this book. I have the 1991 reissue edition. It is only 48 pages long, and omits the letters from 1920 - 1924 and from 1939-1942 . The new edition is one hundred pages longer and contains previously unpublished material.
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65 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a stunningly beautiful book, November 24, 2001
"Letters From Father Christmas" is stunningly beautiful. I have no words to describe how wonderful this book is. It is a great book for the Christmas season. "Letters From Father Christmas" is a collection of the Letters that J.R.R. Tolkien's children received from Father Christmas (what they call Santa in England) during the over twenty years between 1920 and 1943. Each letter is reprinted along with their accompanying illustrations. Father Christmas' letters are beautiful in their own right, but I am blown away by his illustrations. Some of this art deserves to be in a museum. The letters each tell a story. The North Polar Bear (Santa's friend and assistant) figures prominently in these tales. Other characters (elves, goblins, the snow man--who is Father Christmas's gardener, and the man in the moon) add depth and humor to these tales from the North. Some of these letters had my daughter rolling with laughter as we read them together. They are quite funny no matter what age you happen to be (the Polar Bear's commentaries had me laughing). This is a great book. Readers cannot fail to be moved by these letters and stories. I give "Letters From Father Christmas" my highest recommendation.
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83 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Return to Sender, November 4, 1997
By A Customer
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote his children a beautifully illustrated letter from Father Christmas each year. They are wonderful and witty adventures, with the holiday ever-threatened by the antics and errors of the bumbling North Polar Bear. Somehow F.C. and the elves always managed to stay up all night and make enough toys to save the day. The original edition of these letters, "The Father Christmas Letters," has been hard to find for some years. This newer edition was promising- each letter was enclosed in an envelope (much like the "Griffin and Sabine" books)- a nice touch, and expensive for the publisher to produce. Unfortunately, they did not go to the additional expense of actually including the full letters if they were longer than one page, as many are. Each year gets a single page, regardless of the actual length of the original letter. So many of the stories and adventures are cut off with no resolution. This edition is poorly slapped-together and unworthy of the artistry of the originals. Whomever is responsible should be ashamed.
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