The Oxford Book of Christmas Stories [Paperback]

Dennis Pepper (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 1999 | Age Level: 9 and up

When your family gets together at Christmastime, this book will prove to be the most treasured gift, bringing together children and parents, young and old. All the great stories of the holidays, along with some wonderful surprises, are waiting to be read aloud around the tree. This superb treasury of 30 seasonal tales, 10 of which were specially commissioned for this collection, brings together all the traditional Christmas characters and customs that children of all ages know and love--Grandfather Frost, Mr. Pickwick, the Snowman, carol-singing, and the birth of Jesus. Some of the stories--by authors such as Charles Dickens, Shirley Jackson, and Sue Townsend--will be familiar to young readers and their parents. Others--by modern writers including Robert Swindells and Philippa Pearche--will quickly become newly-discovered favorites. The selection presents a wide-ranging view of Christmas and its celebrations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This fresh collection will appeal to a variety of age groups... (A) fine collection of examples of the storytelling art."--School Library Journal

"A stimulating and unhackneyed collection."--San Jose Mercury News

"An excellent anthology of both old and new...This book will prove a constant joy to children and all the family at Christmas."--Library Materials Guide

"These funny and irreverent tales are aimed at adolescents, who should enjoy them... There are even a couple of holiday ghost stories. Cool."--St. Paul Pioneer Press

About the Author

Dennis Pepper is a prolific editor, whose literary output includes The Young Oxford Book of Nasty Endings, The Young Oxford Book of Aliens, The New Young Oxford Book of Ghost Stories, and The Young Oxford Book of Scary Tales.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192781618
• ISBN-13: 978-0192781611
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,114,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roman Ghosts and A Typically English Christmas, August 27, 2000

By 

leslie jane harrelson (Dalton, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Oxford Book of Christmas Stories (Hardcover)

I love this book. It is not the Christmas Carol/Night Before Christmas/ Twelve Best-Loved Carols Collection, but a thoughtful, joyful selection of stories that reveal the best about a living Christmas in modern Britain. This book is like a cup of tea on a snowy evening in London as the lamps go on across the road and late shoppers hurry by outside. If you like England and Christmas you will enjoy this book.

Most appropriate for young adults and adults.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is a book aimed at older children. I was aghast., December 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: An Oxford Book of Christmas Stories (Hardcover)

Most Christmas stories should be heartwarming and enjoyable. This ghastly collection was horrific and depressing. Thank goodness I did not read it to my children. In one story called Christmas Morning there is a drunken father who returns home. In Christmas in the Floods, the grandmother dies and in another short story the snow is coming down like tracer bullets. I will be very leary of any collection by Oxford Press henceforth.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and wonderful collection, January 10, 2006

By 

Adam Verheyen "Adam" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oxford Book of Christmas Stories (Paperback)

An absolutly wonderful book filled with a wide assortment of festive tales. Both old and new, happy and sad, heartwarming and bone chilling. The illustrations are fantastic, and I highly recommend this to anyone.