Short Christmas Stories

Another addition to the popular ‘Short!’ series, this is packed full of stories of Christmas past, present and future. All are two pages or less, some only a few lines; many will make the reader reflect on what they have read or ask questions. This collection would be fantastic for use in the classroom, but ideal too for older readers to dip into and experience a new angle on the festive season. Some stories are directly related to the traditional Nativity story but there are also plenty of retellings of stories behind Christmas traditions across the globe such as the Mexican tale of the poinsettia, the Russian Snow Maiden and some more seasonal ‘winter’ stories. There is also a fair sprinkling of slightly mysterious and even ghostly Christmas tales as well as jokes and amusing anecdotes. Old favourites such as the Little Match Girl sit alongside accounts of historical events like the Thames Frost Fair of 1683 and the game of football between enemies in no man’s land in 1914. This is a comprehensive collection of Christmas stories, with many short enough to read in even the smallest of spare moments. Their brevity does not, however, lead to a compromise in quality: eloquently told, they are succinct and at the same time fully engaging.