A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, 1843 Chapman & Hall

    Ebeneezer Scrooge is the epitome of a person without any Christmas Spirit. He begins his story as a lonely old man who refuses any Christmas extras to his employees. One night he is visited by a series of spirits--Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future--who encourage Scrooge to look beyond the physical things that are put together to make up the Christmas Season.
     The first spirit, Christmas Past, takes Scrooge into his own past to view the Christmases that shaped his views of the holiday. He sees that Christmas and the holiday season wasn't always something that took his workers away from making a profit, he once enjoyed the season with a child's joy.
     Christmas Present, the second spirit, takes Scrooge around to his secretary's home where he sees the young man's son, Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim is suffering from illness and might die if he doesn't get the care his family cannot afford. Scrooge begins to see how his dislike of the Christmas holiday and season are affecting the people around him, despite their innocent joy and faith in the season.
     The third ghost brings a bleak picture of Scrooge's future Christmases. The silent figure takes Scrooge through time to his future, to his tombstone. When he sees the stone, bare and without any appearance of mourners, Scrooge begins to see things differently.
     On Christmas Morning, after a night of travel, Scrooge thinks it was all just a dream, but has changed his take on the season. Eager to change his future, he rushes to his secretary's home to celebrate Christmas with his family. A Christmas Carol is the ultimate tale of Christmas Spirit, and the joy of the intangible elements of the season appropriate for children of all ages.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, 1950 Harper Collins

     During the chaos of World War II and the bombardment of London, the Pevensie children--Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy--are sent away, like many children of the time, to a house in the country. While there, they children live with the strange old Professor Kirke who owns the house and his housekeeper. One rainy day while Lucy Pevensie, the youngest, plays Hide and Seek with her siblings she discovers an old wardrobe in one of the many rooms. It is the ideal place to hide, but as she moves further and further toward the back, she fails to find the back of the wardrobe. Instead she discovers a winter forest behind the many thick coats.
     Lucy goes into the forest, expecting it to be imaginary, and discovers Mr. Tumnus, a faun. After several hours at tea with this intriguing creature, Lucy worries her family will miss her and rushes home through the wardrobe to find that only a few moments have passed and her siblings haven't even noticed her journey. Peter, Susan, and Edmund can't believe the fantastic story Lucy tells them of her adventure, and write it off as her imaginings--she begins to believe them, but drops the subject to keep the peace.
     On a second indoor day, the children are entertaining themselves when Lucy decides to venture back into the magical wardrobe. This time, Edmund follows her. Lucy hurries to visit Mr. Tumnus for a second afternoon of tea. Edmund falls behind and encounters the White Witch. She plies him with candies, magic, and sweet talk encouraging him to return with his siblings. She speaks of a prophecy that would make Edmund king, and tells him of her power over the land, over Narnia. Meanwhile Lucy discovers that Narnia is ruled by a cruel White Witch who makes it "always winter and never Christmas" through her magic. Mr. Tumnus tells her of a prophecy telling of the Witch's overthrow, but warns her that the White Witch will use any means she sees fit to maintain power. Lucy and Edmund both return through the wardrobe, and Edmund refuses to support her story to Peter and Susan.
     After a late-night chat with the Professor, Peter begins to question the validity of Lucy's story--if one who is known to lie is challenging one who is know to tell the truth, who should he believe?
     The day comes when the housekeeper is searching for the four children and to avoid her, they find the only hiding place is the old wardrobe. Peter, Susan, and Edmund follow Lucy through and her story is proven true. Thus begins their adventure into Narnia.
     Lucy leads her sister and brothers to Mr. Tumnus' home, hoping to find him, but the faun has been taken by the witch for harboring Lucy rather than turning her in. The children are found by Mr. Beaver and taken to his dam. It is at the dam that the children learn the contents of the prophecy and why the White Witch wants them taken to her: when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sit on the thrones at Cair Paravel the White Witch's reign will be done and Aslan will return to the land. At some point during the evening, Edmund sneaks out into the night to join the White Witch--leading her to his siblings and threatening the safety of the Beavers' home.
     When his deception is discovered, Peter, Susan and Lucy leave with the Beavers in hopes of finding Aslan, the Great Lion who watches over Narnia, and restoring prosperity to the land. Their journey takes them across Narnia, and they encounter talking animals, forest spirits, other mythological creatures, and Father Christmas himself as the Witch's hold over the land weakens. Their encounter with Father Christmas results in gifts that later tip the scales in the children's favor: a sword and shield for Peter, a bow, quiver, and magical hunting horn for Susan, and a cordial of healing solution for Lucy.
     They meet Aslan and an assembly of Narnians willing to fight for their freedom. When Lucy and Susan are attacked in the woods by two of the White Witch's wolves, Susan uses her horn to call help: Peter and Aslan arrive, kill the Witch's lieutenant and follow the other wolf to Edmund, whom they rescue.
     The White Witch calls an audience with Aslan, claiming Edmund's blood as traitor, but Aslan lays down his life in accordance with the Deep Magic to save him. The Great Lion is sacrificed by the White Witch on the Stone Table, Susan and Lucy follow him and witness the death, but are surprised when he is resurrected the next morn, in accordance with an even deeper magic. Aslan takes the Pevensie girls to the White Witch's castle and the trio rescues the array of Narnians the Witch had turned to stone.
     Lucy, Susan, Aslan, and the revived Narnians return to the battle with the Witch. Aslan defeats the Witch, killing her, and the siblings are reunited. They set up a kingdom at Cair Paravel and the four become well-known as Kings and Queens of Narnia. After years of successful rule, known as the Golden Age of Narnia, the adult Pevensies return to the Wardrobe between worlds and return home to England at the precise moment they left from.
     While the Pevensies grow both developmentally and physically in Narnia, the story is about the struggles between siblings, good and evil, and learning to trust one's own values. It has been criticized for a resemblance to the Christian story, but also has elements of Norse, Greek, and other mythologies. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe highlights the dangers of jealousy and spite in Edmund's journey, and the joys of unconditional love in Lucy's innocent faith. Peter and Susan's skepticism belies a realistic outlook, and their more mature vantage as older siblings. The Professor, while not a key character, becomes a 'devil's advocate' and challenges Peter to look beyond his first impression of the world, and Susan's independence--though rooted in a desire to be 'grown-up'--leads her to become both a warrior and gentle queen.
     The suggested audience for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is third grade or eight-years-old, but it speaks to readers of all ages.

A Little Princess

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgens Burnett, 1905

     Miss Sara Crewe, a pampered young lady who grew up with her Captain father, is sent to live at Miss Minchin's dreary and dismal boarding school for well-off young ladies in London when her father travels to India. Sara becomes the bright spot for the young ladies of the school, showing nothing but naive kindness to the students and staff alike. She befriends the pupils, as well as the staff and they begin to consider her their princess--a title she accepts.
     But after a few years Sara's charmed life falls apart--her father goes missing while searching for a diamond mine and is considered dead, his business partner goes missing and Sara's fortune dries up, and the previously kind headmistress, Miss Minchin, becomes Sara's jailer. The woman is dissatisfied with being saddled with a presumed penniless orphan, of whom she was already jealous for her charm and grace, so she moves Sara from her position as 'wealthy pupil' to an attic servant.
     The servants and students of Miss Minchin's boarding school abuse Sara; starving her, forcing her to run errands in dangerous weather, and to teach the younger students. But over the next few years Sara's good cheer doesn't fade; she carries out her duties, despite the sudden change in position and lifestyle and the loss of her only parent with the help of her active imagination. Her optimism and persistence are rewarded when the house next door is let by a mysterious man, who turns out to be a childhood friend and business partner of her father, Mr. Carrisford. Sara meets his servant, Ram Dass, who secretly brings her exotic foods and gifts on behalf of Mr. Carrisford, but Sara doesn't keep these gifts to herself, she shares them with the other servant girl living in the attic, as well as the few students who are still her friends.
     Sara discovers the identity of her benefactor when she returns his escaped monkey. Mr. Carrisford has been looking for Captain Crewe's daughter since the death of his friend and takes Sara in when he discovers who she is. Miss Minchin comes to retrieve Sara, but is told she will remain with Mr. Carrisford and that her fortunes have been restored with the success of her father's diamond mine. Miss Minchin asks Sara to return as a student, but she is rejected and Sara brings her attic roommate to live with her as a companion and lady's maid.
     Sara's story is about maintaining a positive outlook on life, no matter what it throws at you. She is the perfect princess who doesn't let her circumstances get the better of her, and the notice of Londoners throughout the story label her a 'princess'. This classic is considered a children's story, but is written for a late-elementary or middle school crowd. It is understandable, but there are times when Sara seems too good to be true. Her happiness is infectious though, and A Little Princess captures her spark against a dark background of grimy London.

Black Beauty

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, 1877

     This story about a horse shuttled to and fro. The narrator is the horse, and goes by various names including Blackie, Darkie, and Black Beauty. Beauty begins his story as a colt, his mother reminding him to be a good horse. He becomes a well-trained carriage horse and continues to work for the gentry. When Beauty is ridden by one of his masters' drunk stable hand, he trips and skins his knees. Beauty is no longer considered fit to lead a carriage and becomes a work horse. He finds himself with more cruel owners and overworking himself in the course of trying to be of the most service to the humans around him. When he finds his final home retired in the country with the three ladies, he is recognized by a former stable boy as the beauty that led the carriage of the lord.
      Beauty's story is told in vignettes, each chapter is an incident with a moral or lesson about kindness and understanding. The book is said to be the cause for much change in the public opinion in relation to animal cruelty. Black Beauty opened the market for horse-stories that are now popular in children's literature. Sewell herself said she didn't intend the book to be a children's book, and portrayed a very realistic representation of horse behavior, as well as the conditions cabbies in late-seventeenth century London faced. While some of the concepts may be more advanced than some young readers are ready for, Black Beauty is accessible to readers as young as fifth grade.