Children's Holiday Little House Stories: A Little House Christmas, Volumes I & II by Laura Ingalls Wilder

A Little House Christmas complies some of the Christmas stories from Laura's Little House books into a lovely hardcover that collectors will certainly enjoy.



From Christmas in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, to the day Mr. Edwards delivered presents so that Santa didn't have to cross the creek, to the chapters of Christmas on Plum Creek where Laura received red mittens, the white China box, and the fur cape and muff off the tree at church, each story is just as special as when you first read it in the Little House books.

The illustrations by Garth Williams have been colorized to make this book an extra special treat for Little House fans, and also includes the words and music to Merry, Merry Christmas! by Mrs. T.J. Cook.

The jpeg of the cover art can't possibly do it justice, as Williams's illustration of Laura receiving her rag doll Charlotte is encircled by a wreath of holly.

While A Little House Christmas shares the Christmas stories of Laura's early days, A Little House Christmas, Volume II travels east to Malone, New York to share the story of Christmas at the Wilder farm with Almanzo as a boy and the aunts, uncles, and cousins came to dinner.



Then the book travels to the shores of Silver Lake, where Laura and her family are living in the surveyors' house, and on to Christmas in De Smet, SD, where the blizzards seem like they will never end and the trains won't run again until spring. And finally, we get to read the story of Almanzo's surprise return visit on Christmas Eve in These Happy Golden Years.

Again, collectors will find this large hardcover a welcome addition to their Little House library. The green cover is even more striking than the red from the first one, and the holly wreath encircles a picture of Ma fastening the little blue coat with the swan's-down collar on Grace and tying the swan's-down hood over her golden hair.

Little House fans will enjoy these books year after year and remember why Laura Ingalls Wilder's books continue to gain new fans so many years after they were first published.

Audible Novella Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Narrated by Hugh Grant

 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens tells the story of miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge, a wealthy partner at Scrooge & Marley. Set during the Christmas season, years after the death of Marley, Scrooge believes all the joy and gift giving of the season to be a humbug. This year, like in years past, he declines his nephew's invitation to Christmas dinner. Once he returns home for the evening, he is visited by Marley's ghost, who encourages him to change his stingy ways. Marley warns him he will be visited by three spirits. As Scrooge joins the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, he comes face to face with what he life was, is, and could be. He also learns more about his clerk Bob Cratchit and his young son, Tiny Tim. 

This seasonal historical tale has been a holiday classic for generations. The Audible version, narrated by Hugh Grant, is a superb performance of the story of the stingy Scrooge, who is transformed by three spirits who visit him. Grant captured all the characters so well. I would recommend listening to this any time of year.

• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 12-21-20
• Language: English
• Publisher: Audible Studios

This was a free Audible selection. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Christmas Historical Mystery Review: A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond

 

A fascinating historical mystery awaits you in A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond. 

In the third book of Redmond's reimagining of the life of Charles Dickens, the young reporter must find a murderer and find an orphaned infant a home, that is unless he becomes the next victim. 

Charles Dickins is out caroling with his fiancée Kate and friends when a body plummets out an upper window from a house. It is identified as Jacob Harley, the business partner of the home's resident, Emmanuel Screws, an unpleasant codger who owns a counting house. 

Before Charles can get to the bottom of this dastardly deed, Harley's corpse is stolen. Then Charles is visited by what seems to be Harley's ghost. Kate and he are at odds over Mr. Screws' ability to toss his partner out the window, but their relationship is tested in a new way by the unexpected arrival of an orphan when Charles feels he must find a home for the poor babe. Can Charles find the murderer and renew Kate's faith in him?

I will be the first to admit I requested this book because of its connection to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickins. It is my favorite holiday story. I had no idea, therefore, that A Christmas Carol Murder by Heather Redmond is the third book of a series featuring a young Charles Dickens and Kate Hogarth. That said, I didn't feel I missed much since this is a total stand-alone novel. 

This refreshing twist on Dickens' classic novel is a murder mystery that engages the reader from the very beginning. It has a slow and steady pace, which I expected considering the time period and the book which it harkens back to, though there are a few heart-racing moments. It wrapped up nicely, and I hope the author has more stories planned for this historical character; an Oliver Twist or maybe a David Copperfield adaptation? I am eager to go back and read the previous two installments in Redmond's A Dickens of a Crime series.

This review first appeared at The Book Connection. I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Book Covers That Remind Me of Christmas

This post originally appeared as a Top Ten Tuesday at The Book Connection. I thought it would be neat to revisit it here at this blog. 

I loved this book! It's the story of Santa Claus. 

Hubbard has such great Christmas covers. They make me want to spend Christmas with her characters.

One of my favorite Christmas book covers and a fabulous story.

This story has nothing to do with Christmas, but the town being shut down by a blizzard in this cover really reminds me of Christmas. 

Small towns and snow always remind me of Christmas.

Wouldn't this be a pretty place to spend Christmas?

Clever to have the main characters inside a Christmas ornament.

I have to ask why orange on this cover? The Grinch is what reminds me of Christmas, but orange? 

Scrooge carrying Tiny Tim means Christmas.

This cover shows the true meaning of Christmas. 

Middle Grade Historical Fiction Review: The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

On the Dakota prairie, the muskrats built their thick-walled houses and the geese flew south with great haste, not even stopping to rest in the Big Slough. Pa Ingalls watched these signs and worried of what they foretold.

The Long Winter continues the saga of the Ingalls family--pioneers who continued to move west until they finally settled in the new town of De Smet in Dakota Territory. A surprise October blizzard leaves Pa fearful for his family’s safety, as their claim shanty is in no condition to withstand the seven months of storms a wise American Indian has predicted.

Pa moves Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie and Grace into the store building in town so they can be snug, warm, and close to supplies. But the constant blizzards, sometimes only a day or two apart, keep the trains from reaching De Smet. There is no coal, no kerosene, no flour, and no game to hunt. The men go to work on sunny days with picks and shovels, trying to clear the Tracy cut so that the trains can get through to the townspeople who are slowly wasting away. Then the word comes--no trains until spring, and the people of De Smet wonder how long they can survive.

The reason I am drawn to this book is because of its wonderful descriptions. Wilder paints a clear picture of what it was like to live in Dakota Territory during that harsh winter. From the hunger for food, to the frost covered nails on the roof of her house, to the piercing screams of the constant blizzards, Wilder pulls me in. I feel the pain Laura experiences as she watches her family suffer through the dangers of living in a new town where not even rabbits can be hunted for food. I admire Almanzo and Cap as they risk their lives to save the townspeople. And I join in the excitement of waiting for that first train to arrive after months of no supplies, so the townsfolk can celebrate a long overdue Christmas. 

A book of courage against seemingly insurmountable odds makes The Long Winter a must read for all Laura Ingalls Wilder fans.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins; Reprint edition (May 11, 2004)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060581859
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060581855
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 7 - 11 years, from customers
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 790L
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
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I own the entire Little House series that was republished in 1971. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Christmas Novella Spotlight: A Williamsburg Christmas by Anne Greene

Trent jilted Holly. Should she give him a second chance? Has too much time elapsed and is too much fire quenched for this 1955 romance to rekindle?

Holly falls in love with the sights, sounds, and scents of Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg during her first year living there. She’s a widowed mother raising 8-year-old twin boys by working as a waitress in a famous Colonial Williamsburg Inn.

Trent disappeared from Holly’s life ten years ago. Now he’s back and wants to marry her. Santa’s matchmakers complicate Holly’s decision by bringing new men into her life.

Paperback: 114 pages
Publisher: Independently published (September 5, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1720099839
ISBN-13: 978-1720099833


Find more information on Goodreads!

Book Spotlight: Silver Bells Collection (A Timeless Romance Anthology)

Six Award-Winning Authors have contributed stories to Silver Bells Collection (A Timeless Romance Anthology). Readers will love this collection of six historical romance novellas, all centered around the Christmas season.

In NY Times & USA Today’s bestselling author Lucinda Brant’s delightful novella, FAIRY CHRISTMAS, Kitty Aldershot is orphaned and forced to live on others’ charity. Offered a home under the generous roof of her relatives, the Earl of Salt Hendon and his countess, Kitty wants for nothing, not even the affections of Mr. Tom Allenby. But when Kitty stumbles across a letter written by Lady Caroline that reveals how Mr. Allenby would be ruined should he marry the likes of Kitty, she realizes she has been fooling herself all along. Kitty’s world crumbles around her as she recognizes she will forever be alone with no prospects at all.

Sarah M. Eden’s charming romance novella A CHRISTMAS PROMISE, Sean Kirkpatrick is trying to get to his new place of employment, Kilkenny Castle, in order to start as the new stablehand. His only requirement is to drive a team of high-spirited nags from Dublin to Kilkenny in a certain amount of time. Unfortunately he winds up in a muddy field, stuck, lost, and running out of time. He’s about to lose the job before he can prove himself capable of finishing his first assignment. When Maeve Butler arrives on the scene, Sean isn’t sure if she’s intent on rescuing him or bent on torturing him with her fiery wit and lovely dark eyes.

In Heather B. Moore’s enchanting novella, TWELVE MONTHS, Lucien Baxter’s best and most incorrigible friend, Will, dies unexpectedly, leaving behind his new bride and unborn child the week before Christmas. Will’s last request is that Lucien watches over Cora, not just as a benefactor, but as a husband. When Lucien does his duty and proposes to Cora, he’s turned down flat. But over the course of the next few days, Lucien discovers that marrying Cora wouldn’t be any sort of duty after all, but a matter of following his heart.

In Lu Ann Staheli’s sweet romance novella, A FEZZIWIG CHRISTMAS, Dick Wilkins and his best friend Ebenezer Scrooge have been looking forward to the annual Fezziwig Christmas dance for weeks. Ebenezer is practically engaged to Annabelle Fezziwig, and Dick hopes to start courting her younger sister, Pricilla. Once the dance starts, and Pricilla arrives, as pretty and charming as ever, Dick discovers that he’s not the only man vying for her attention. His best friend advises Dick that he has to win Pricilla’s heart, as well as her mother’s favor. Losing his heart has suddenly become very complicated.

A TASTE OF HOME, a captivating romance by Annette Lyon, we meet Claire Jennings, who’s on her way to spend Christmas with her family. As she rides the train with William Rhodes, who grew up across the street, memories of Christmases past flood her mind. He may be twenty-one now, but she can’t forget his torturous teasing from their school years. At the rail station, Claire discovers that her home is under quarantine because her little brother has measles. She's stuck in town, away from her family, on her favorite holiday. William stays behind with her, and as Christmas Day approaches and her homesickness deepens, she discovers that perhaps he has changed in more ways than one.

Becca Wilhite’s entrancing novella, MY MODERN GIRL, follows Margie, who lands her dream job as a clerk at Macy’s department store in New York City. Margie might be new in town, but she’s determined to succeed and prove to Henry that moving to the city was the right decision. As the Christmas season approaches, Margie realizes that being a “modern girl” might not be all she had dreamed of and Henry might have more to offer than she ever imagined.

File Size: 4792 KB
Print Length: 292 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Mirror Press (October 14, 2014)
Publication Date: October 14, 2014
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00OIAJ7RO

Short Story Review: A Christmas Crossing by Lynn Hubbard

Sarah Fanum is thrust into the middle of the Revolutionary War. Having lost both her parents, she ends up volunteering for the Continental Army. More tragedy awaits her, but perhaps it will also lead to a new future.

This is a moving story of one woman's journey to find where she belongs after her life is turned upside down. Hubbard's attention to historical detail is outstanding. This short story also includes historical photos and maps. The cover is both beautiful and unique.

What I stumbled upon in A Christmas Crossing is all the grammar and typographical errors. Verb tenses would change in the middle of a chapter. Words were misspelled. I found that aspect distracting. A good editor would easily have caught these errors, making this a stronger story. Overall, I'm glad I read it, and I would consider another of Hubbard's stories in the future. She paints an excellent picture for the reader when it comes to setting, fashion, and other historical details, which will be appreciated by any lover of this genre.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 1, 2011)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 44 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1467912239
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1467912235 

This review first appeared at The Book Connection. I was not compensated in any way for this review.