A horrendous, howling, and devastating blizzard strikes Santaville in the blackness of early morning, so severe that it blows away the doors to the stable, where Santa shelters his reindeer. Exposed to the raging storm, the reindeer come down with the flu and cannot fly. Santa, years before, came upon a group of young Polar bears who could leap high in the air. He finds them. With the help and encouragement of the villagers of Santaville, and the reindeer, the Polar bears fly, saving Christmas, and Santa keeps his promise to all good children everywhere on Christmas Eve, bringing them the gifts of their dreams.
It is three days before Christmas and there is trouble at the North Pole! Santa is sick with a bad cold and his reindeer have come down with the flu. For the first time the North Pole is forced to close its' doors! How will all good little girls and boys receive any presents? Author Mary Ellen La Porte brings the story alive with endearing watercolors that capture this Christmas tale that is sure to capivate a child's imagination and belief in this magical time of year.
In the tradition of The Snowman and The Polar Express, this cozy Nordic tale filled with extraordinary photographs will have readers of all ages dreaming of magical places where wintry wishes come true. Long ago, a little girl named Anja wanted to be one of Santa's elves. Since she lives somewhat near the North Pole, she thinks about it quite often. One holiday season, she decides to do something about it. So she tidies up her home, straps on her snowshoes, and heads out into the snowy landscape. Enlisting the help of some woodland friends on her wonder-filled journey, Anja makes her way to Santa to see if he might grant her this special Christmas wish. This Read & Listen edition contains audio narration.
A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana—the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film and the live musical on Fox. The holiday film A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family’s typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker’s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father’s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie’s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie’s unstoppable campaign to get Santa—or anyone else—to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid”? The pieces that comprise A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.
The bestselling star of No, David! turns Christmas traditions upside down with laugh-aloud humor. Readers of all ages will vividly remember trying to peek at hidden gift packages; writing scrolls of wish lists to Santa; and struggling to behave at formal Christmas dinner parties. Always in the background, we know Santa Claus is watching, soon to decide if David deserves a shiny new fire truck or a lump of coal under the tree. From playing with delicate ornaments to standing in an endlessly long line for Santa, here are common Christmas activities--but with David's naughty trimmings. A surefire hit that is destined to be an annual classic.
Turner Classic Movies presents a bucket list of the best and most beloved holiday films of all time, complete with spirited commentary, behind-the-scenes stories, and photos spanning eight decades of Christmastime favorites. Nothing brings the spirit of the season into our hearts quite like a great holiday movie. "Christmas films" come in many shapes and sizes and exist across many genres. Some, like It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story, are perennials, while others, such as Die Hard, have only gradually become yuletide favorites. But they all have one thing in common: they use themes evoked by the holiday period - nostalgia, joy, togetherness, dysfunction, commercialism, or cynicism - as a force in their storytelling. Turner Classic Movies: Christmas in the Movies showcases the very best among this uniquely spirited strain of cinema. Each film is profiled on what makes it a "Christmas movie," along with behind-the-scenes stories of its production, reception, and legacy. Complemented by a trove of color and black-and-white photos, Turner Classic Movies: Christmas in the Movies is a glorious salute to a collection of the most treasured films of all time. Among the 30 films included: The Shop Around the Corner, Holiday Inn, Meet Me in St. Louis, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, A Christmas Story, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Little Women,and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Possum Got Big Ears is a collection of short stories about a little African-American girl growing up during the 1950s and 60s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the story about a time when children were seen not heard; when children said yes maam, and no maam to all adults; when rebellion and disrespect were not tolerated. It is about a time when little children sat at special tables for dinner, away from the adults; and obedience and respect were demanded and received. Possum refers to a game played by the adults in my family who were determined to keep children innocent, out of their business, and away from their secrets. In order to do this, they spelled their conversations, letter by letter, a non-stop string of words strung together into a conversation. It infuriated me, because I didnt know how to spell. However, I would learn. It was my incentive to learn to spell, and learn I did, in spite of their efforts. Possum is about the good, the bad, the ugly, the funny and my quest to grow up. This is the story of a little girls tears, anger, repentance and victory. Agnes Cross-White lives in Florida and is the publisher of The Charlottesville Tribune in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ms. White grew up in Philadelphia in the 1950s and 1960s and spent her earliest years with her grandmother, Agnes Gilbert Daniels who she credits with having been the most important person in her life. Possum Got Big Ears is a collection of short stories about her family and their interaction over the first twelve years of her life. Each story details experiences and their effect on her development into a woman. This is Ms. Whites second book, having published Charlottesville, the African-American Communityin 1998.
