Birds' Christmas Carol

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Children's Literature

First published in 1886, this sentimental short story (60 pages) by the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm tells of the short and generous life of Carol Bird, the youngest of four children. Named for the carols being sung at the next-door church when she was born, Carol is afflicted at five with a wasting disease. However, the now ten-year-old girl wishes to give a Christmas dinner party for the poor Ruggles children who live at the back of the garden. Wiggins lavishes detail on the preparation and the children's enjoyment of Carol's efforts. That night, in true Victorian fashion, Carol dies a happy child. Whether this tale resonates with today's children or not, it is typical of the stories of dutiful children and early deaths which pervade the era. The original etchings reproduce adequately and the book's blue cover and gold lettering lend a certain elegance to this classic tale. 1999 (orig.

Few writers have made such an impression on so many generations of readers as Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923). Ms. Wiggin spent her childhood in Hollis, Maine, a place very much like Rebecca's home. A devoted advocate for early childhood education, she, along with her sister, Nora, founded a school for kindergarten teachers, as well as the Salmon Falls Village Library, which still serves as the town library for Hollis.