The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas: An Austin Family Story [Hardcover]

Madeleine L'Engle (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

Seven-year-old Vicky Austin recounts the events of the twenty-four days before Christmas, as she prepares for her role as an angel in the Christmas Pageant and prays that her mother will not be in the hospital for Christmas having a new baby.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Shaw Books; 1st edition (March 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877888434
• ISBN-13: 978-0877888437
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Madeleine L'Engle, the popular author of many books for children and adults, has interspersed her writing and teaching career with raising three children, maintaining an apartment in New York and a farmhouse of charming confusion which is called "Crosswicks."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book to young children at Christmas time., September 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas: An Austin Family Story (Hardcover)

Against the backdrop of the approaching Christmas holiday, her role in the church play, and her family's wonderful holiday traditions, young Vicky Austin experiences feelings of rivalry for a sibling not yet born, and whose impending birth threatens to disrupt the holiday. This is a warm, loving book. It is an excellent story for older children, and I would recommend making the reading of it, chapter by chapter, part of a family's preparation for Christmas, like a literary advent calendar

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My all time favorite Christmas book, October 17, 2004

By 

C. McNamara (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas: An Austin Family Story (Hardcover)

If you love Madeleine L'Engle's books, then this is a definite "must have" for the holidays. Read about the Austin family as they prepare for Christmas, the church pageant, and a new addition to the family. Their warmth and love for each other are contagious, and yet they are a "real" family, growing pains and all. This is a fabulous book for young girls - and one to read every year in preparation for the holiday season.

5.0 out of 5 stars Favorite or Favorite Christmas Stories, December 5, 2011

By 

R. Morris - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas: An Austin Family Story (Hardcover)

This is one of my favorite Christmas stories. I have read it or heard it read each Christmas for as long as I can remember. There is just something special in the sweet simplicity of 7-year-old Vickie Austin telling the story of her special Christmas. Her worries about the Christmas pageant where she has been chosen to be the angel of the Lord, about the possibility of her mother being in the hospital over Christmas, and if there will be any snow, just builds you for the wonderful ending that is sure to leave you with a feeling of peace. Sometimes I read this story several times during one Christmas season. I'm looking forward to reading it over again this year