A Child’s Christmas in Wales

A reminiscence of Christmas, from the viewpoint of a young boy, that has been a holiday favorite for decades.

In rich, humorous, magical prose, poet Dylan Thomas recalls the church-going, the tree-trimming, the food, the carols and games of his childhood Christmases. And, of course, Mrs. Prothero and the firemen. It is one of Thomas’ most popular works.

Always on Christmas night there was music, he writes. An uncle played the fiddle, a cousin sang “Cherry Ripe,” and another uncle sang “Drake’s Drum.” It was very warm in the little house. Auntie Hannah, who had got on to the parsnip wine, sang a song about Bleeding Hearts and Death, and then another in which she said her heart was like a Bird’s Nest; and then everybody laughed again; and then I went to bed. Looking through my bedroom window, out into the moonlight and the unending smoke-colored snow, I could see the lights in the windows of all the other houses on our hill and hear the music rising from them up the long, steady falling night.

For this edition, Edward Ardizzone created the perfect accompaniment in 30 delightful watercolors and drawings. This is a timeless classic–a wonderful evocation of a gentle and seemingly endless Christmas made charming and endearing through language. Published in a format for reading aloud to young people, this is truly a book for all ages.