Stories from around the world
The Christmas Companion
Twelve Christmas stories and poems, written between 1823 and 1905 in seven countries, with notes, a question for every story, a twelve-day reading plan and a guide to writing your own.
Charles Dickens · O. Henry · Hans Christian Andersen · Selma Lagerlöf · Nikolai Gogol · Anton Chekhov · Frederick Douglass · Harriet Jacobs · Paul Laurence Dunbar · Henry Lawson · Henry van Dyke · Francis Pharcellus Church · Clement Clarke Moore
Selected and annotated by Kenneth McDonald
Read
the stories, aloud if you can.
Talk
about them, using the question after each one.
Write
your own, with the guide at the back.
Share
what you have written or remembered with someone else.
From the foreword
So this book begins by handing the question to the household about to read it. Before the Christmas meal, look around your own table. Who is missing this year? Someone who is no longer with us, someone far away, someone who is lonely, or someone you have never thought to invite. Say their names. And if one of them can still be reached, send the letter, make the call, or set the extra place. That is what these stories ask, and the pages that follow show how twelve writers answered.
Seven countries · eighty-two years
Christmas as it was kept in kitchens, churches, goldfields, village streets and city flats
The writers lived in England, the United States of America, Denmark, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia and Australia. Each piece has its own map in the book, and a map at the front shows where every story takes place.
The twelve pieces
Twelve stories, twelve questions
Questions about the book
What is The Christmas Companion?
Twelve Christmas stories and poems written between 1823 and 1905 in England, the United States of America, Denmark, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia and Australia, by Charles Dickens, O. Henry, Hans Christian Andersen, Selma Lagerlöf, Nikolai Gogol, Anton Chekhov, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Henry Lawson, Henry van Dyke, Francis Pharcellus Church and Clement Clarke Moore, with introductions, notes, a question for every story, a twelve-day reading plan and a guide to writing your own Christmas story. Selected and annotated by Kenneth McDonald.
Which stories are in The Christmas Companion?
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry; The Fir-Tree by Hans Christian Andersen; The Holy Night by Selma Lagerlöf; Christmas Eve by Nikolai Gogol; Vanka by Anton Chekhov; Christmas in Their Own Words by Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs; Christmas Poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar; The Ghosts of Many Christmases by Henry Lawson; The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry van Dyke; Is There a Santa Claus? by Francis Pharcellus Church; A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore (attributed).
Who is the book for?
Families, classrooms and readers of ten and over. Four pieces can be read to young children: The Gift of the Magi, The Holy Night, A Visit from St. Nicholas and Is There a Santa Claus? Every introduction says who its piece suits.
What is the twelve-day reading plan?
One piece or part of a piece for each day from 14 to 25 December, ending on Christmas Day with each person at the table sharing one Christmas memory of their own.
How much does the book cost?
The ebook is US$9.99. The paperback, printed in full colour, is US$44.99.
The whole book
All twelve stories, with every note, map and illustration
The ebook is US$9.99. It includes the twelve-day reading plan, three essays, a glossary and the guide to writing your own Christmas story.
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