The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories

From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter

Hardcover
$25.00 US
6.3"W x 9.5"H x 1.1"D  
On sale Nov 10, 2020 | 288 Pages | 978-0-241-39669-8
| Grades 6-12
The ultimate festive anthology of the best Christmas stories of all time, selected from around the world

A Penguin Classics Hardcover

This is a collection of the most magical, moving, chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world, taking us from frozen Nordic woods to glittering Paris, a New York speakeasy to an English country house, bustling Lagos to midnight mass in Rio, and even outer space.

Here are classic tales from writers including Truman Capote, Shirley Jackson, Dylan Thomas, Saki and Chekhov, as well as little-known treasures such as Italo Calvino's wry sideways look at Christmas consumerism, Wolfdietrich Schnurre's story of festive ingenuity in Berlin, Selma Lagerlof's enchanted forest in Sweden, and Irène Nemerovsky's dark family portrait. Featuring santas, ghosts, trolls, unexpected guests, curmudgeons and miracles, here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time.
Contents

“The Fir Tree” by Hans Christian Andersen
“The Cat on the Dovrefjell” by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe
“A Christmas Party and a Wedding” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“St. Anthony and His Pig” by Paul Arène
“Boys” by Anton Chekhov
“Midnight Mass” by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
“Reginald’s Christmas Revel” by Saki
“The Legend of the Christmas Rose” by Selma Lagerlöf
“A Chaparral Christmas Gift” by O. Henry
“Noël” by Irène Némirovsky
“Dancing Dan’s Christmas” by Damon Runyon
“The Necklace of Pearls” by Dorothy L. Sayers
“One Christmas Eve” by Langston Hughes
“The Christmas Turkey” by Mário de Andrade
“Green Holly” by Elizabeth Bowen
“Christmas Morning” by Frank O’Connor
“A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas
“The Little Restaurant near Place des Ternes” by Georges Simenon
“The Gift” by Ray Bradbury
“A Visit to the Bank” by Shirley Jackson
“The Prisoners” by Bienvenido Santos
“The Leaf-Sweeper” by Muriel Spark
“A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote
“The Loan” by Wolfdietrich Schnurre
“Christmas Eve” by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
“The Loudest Voice” by Grace Paley
“A Cold Christmas Walk in the Country” by Laurie Lee
“Santa’s Children” by Italo Calvino
“Christmas” by Tove Jansson
“Just Because of Xmas” by Cyprian Ekwensi
“Noël. Texas. 1956” by Lucia Berlin
“The Ghost Ships” by Angela Carter
“From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter, this greatest hits compilation also happens to be beautifully published. Inside you’ll find ghosts, miracles, grouchy curmudgeons, and plenty of snow.” ―Daily Mail (“Books of the Year”)

“Perfect for any looming Boxing Day boredom.” ―The Herald (Scotland)

About

The ultimate festive anthology of the best Christmas stories of all time, selected from around the world

A Penguin Classics Hardcover

This is a collection of the most magical, moving, chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world, taking us from frozen Nordic woods to glittering Paris, a New York speakeasy to an English country house, bustling Lagos to midnight mass in Rio, and even outer space.

Here are classic tales from writers including Truman Capote, Shirley Jackson, Dylan Thomas, Saki and Chekhov, as well as little-known treasures such as Italo Calvino's wry sideways look at Christmas consumerism, Wolfdietrich Schnurre's story of festive ingenuity in Berlin, Selma Lagerlof's enchanted forest in Sweden, and Irène Nemerovsky's dark family portrait. Featuring santas, ghosts, trolls, unexpected guests, curmudgeons and miracles, here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time.

Excerpt

Contents

“The Fir Tree” by Hans Christian Andersen
“The Cat on the Dovrefjell” by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe
“A Christmas Party and a Wedding” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“St. Anthony and His Pig” by Paul Arène
“Boys” by Anton Chekhov
“Midnight Mass” by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
“Reginald’s Christmas Revel” by Saki
“The Legend of the Christmas Rose” by Selma Lagerlöf
“A Chaparral Christmas Gift” by O. Henry
“Noël” by Irène Némirovsky
“Dancing Dan’s Christmas” by Damon Runyon
“The Necklace of Pearls” by Dorothy L. Sayers
“One Christmas Eve” by Langston Hughes
“The Christmas Turkey” by Mário de Andrade
“Green Holly” by Elizabeth Bowen
“Christmas Morning” by Frank O’Connor
“A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas
“The Little Restaurant near Place des Ternes” by Georges Simenon
“The Gift” by Ray Bradbury
“A Visit to the Bank” by Shirley Jackson
“The Prisoners” by Bienvenido Santos
“The Leaf-Sweeper” by Muriel Spark
“A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote
“The Loan” by Wolfdietrich Schnurre
“Christmas Eve” by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
“The Loudest Voice” by Grace Paley
“A Cold Christmas Walk in the Country” by Laurie Lee
“Santa’s Children” by Italo Calvino
“Christmas” by Tove Jansson
“Just Because of Xmas” by Cyprian Ekwensi
“Noël. Texas. 1956” by Lucia Berlin
“The Ghost Ships” by Angela Carter

Praise

“From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter, this greatest hits compilation also happens to be beautifully published. Inside you’ll find ghosts, miracles, grouchy curmudgeons, and plenty of snow.” ―Daily Mail (“Books of the Year”)

“Perfect for any looming Boxing Day boredom.” ―The Herald (Scotland)

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

Read more