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Letters from Father Christmas

by J. R. R. Tolkien

A family’s December correspondence from the North Pole

Regular price $24.73 USD
Regular price $41.22 USD Sale price $24.73 USD
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Hardcover New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A family’s December correspondence from the North Pole

Collected from letters J. R. R. Tolkien sent to his children, this book turns a yearly December arrival into a series of illustrated dispatches from Father Christmas. The North Pole correspondence includes mishaps involving loose reindeer and the accident-prone Polar Bear, alongside notes from the elf Ilbereth. Colored drawings and sketches accompany the letters, making the book as much a collection of family-made correspondence and images as a set of Christmas tales. This edition also includes an introduction by Baillie Tolkien and a personal note by Tolkien.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Children ages 4–8 interested in Christmas stories and illustrations
  • Families looking for a seasonal book to share
  • Tolkien fans curious about his letters to his children

Themes

Christmas traditionsFamily correspondenceNorth Pole adventuresIllustration and storytelling

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

For fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and lovers of Christmas holidays, Letters from Father Christmas is a gorgeous, full-color, festive gift and illustrated book featuring a wealth of letters and illustrations that Tolkien created for his children, appearing in a smaller, more reader-friendly trim size for the first time. This handsome edition also includes an introduction from daughter-in-law Baillie Tolkien, reflecting on the centenary anniversary of the letters, as well as a personal note by Tolkien himself.

Every December, an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R. Tolkien's children. Inside would be a letter in strange spidery handwriting and a beautiful colored drawing or some sketches. The letters were from Father Christmas.

They told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how all the reindeer got loose and scattered presents all over the place; how the accident-prone Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas's house into the dining room; how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back garden; how there were wars with the troublesome horde of goblins who lived in the caves beneath the house!

Sometimes the Polar Bear would scrawl a note, and sometimes Ilbereth the Elf would write in his elegant flowing script, adding yet more life and humor to these Christmas stories for kids. No reader, young or old, can fail to be charmed by the inventiveness and "authenticity" of Tolkien's Letters from Father Christmas.

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