Status
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Call number
Publication
Scholastic Trade (1972)
Description
Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923) was an important reformer of children's education at the turn of the century. During a period when children's place in society was little other than cheap labor, Kate Douglas Wiggin was dedicated to the betterment of youth. She was the first person to found a free kindergarten school in San Francisco in 1878. Her passion for children's rights carried over to her successful career as an author of children's books. In her 1887 tale "The Birds' Christmas Carol", Kate Douglas Wiggin tells the story of the angelic Carol Bird, a young girl who spreads mirth to everyone around her. Born on Christmas, Carol tragically falls ill when she is five years old. The novel follows her heartwarming plan to hold a majestic Christmas celebration for the neighboring Ruggles family. A true Christmas classic, this tale is sure to inspire all with Christmas joy.… (more)
Local notes
1601-166
User reviews
LibraryThing member stuzle
My sister and I had a Christmas tradition for many years of reading this book together on Christmas Eve. I guess we loved to cry! Brave cheerful Carol made being sick with a fatal illness sound like a fascinating thing to go through at Christmas time, and we loved the sentimental nature of the
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read! Sometimes you just want to cry and not be hit by a huge message in your reading! Show Less
LibraryThing member mydomino1978
My mother read this to me every year at Christmas for as long as I can remember, and my children insist I read it every year also. They have to take over at the parts where I cry. I am going to buy each of them a copy to read to their children someday.
LibraryThing member MerryMary
A lovely vintage story of unselfishness and Christmas. A classic.
LibraryThing member rslynch
My English teacher read a chapter or so from this book to us each day. Although it was so long ago, I still rememeber thinking how well-written and emotional the book was. The only problem was, I thought the story was about a family of birds! After all these years, I still think about the story
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often. Show Less
LibraryThing member tenlove
One of the many books I read annually between Thanksgiving and Christmas. An excellent Christmas story from the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
LibraryThing member dichosa
Wiggin is absolutely my favorite author, and this is truly one of the sweetest stories. It is a small book that reads quickly. Do yourself and your children a favor, and read this during the holiday season each and every year! A classic no doubt!
LibraryThing member rheasly
A sweet tale about a sick girl, Carol, and her plans to host a decadent Christmas dinner for the poor children living next door. Kate Douglas Wiggin's story was published in 1886, and its themes of generosity and kindness are as important today as they ever were. A great story to read every year,
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starting from a young age. The language is charming, but old, so some help may be needed for independent reading, ages 8-10. Show Less
LibraryThing member dichosa
All-time favorite story about the Christmas holiday. An inspiring story about family and love.
LibraryThing member RaucousRain
This book was a Christmas gift to from my adult son. My copy of the book was printed 1914 and there is the most wonderful scent and feel to the smooth old pages. I think it was well-loved before it came into my hands. It is a delightful story, at times sad yet always charming. One very small thing
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(which I absolutely love) is "Cary" is the name of Carol's pet canary. (Cary is not a featured character; I only remember the name because I thought it was so clever) Show Less
LibraryThing member auntieknickers
A bit of a tearjerker, but with humor as well, and a good Christmas message about caring for the poor.
LibraryThing member jbarr5
The Birds' Christmas Carol by Wiggin_ Kate Douglas Smith
Baby bird is born on Christmas day and the male birds want a change at naming the bird. The mother decides Carol is most fitting for the first girl of their family.
Story follows her life as the others get older and move on with their lives.
Love charity work of exchanging books for 14 days with other children at the hospital.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Baby bird is born on Christmas day and the male birds want a change at naming the bird. The mother decides Carol is most fitting for the first girl of their family.
Story follows her life as the others get older and move on with their lives.
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She makes it a special Christmas for one family every year.Love charity work of exchanging books for 14 days with other children at the hospital.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
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LibraryThing member lydiasbooks
I was inspired by a wish to visit some classics, particularly ones available as free ebooks. I loved this one. Sweet, pretty and apt. Despite the book being christian, I did not find it alienating. Highly descriptive whilst being lovely generally. I recommend this happily.
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
A short children's novel from the late 19th century, The Birds' Christmas Carol tells the story of Carol Bird, a girl born on Christmas Day who is uncommonly sweet and kind. She is also ill, and by the time she is ten, she has been bed-ridden for years. Most of the book tells of her plans to hold a Carol dies happy and peacefully after the dinner party has concluded and while listening to the choir at the church next door . I have vague recollections of having read this as a kid (I have a vivid memory of the cover of the yellow Apple paperback edition) and listened to it now mostly because I couldn't for anything remember whether Carol survived or not. Listening to it now, two things struck me: 1) it's properly funny in parts (especially Mrs. Ruggles getting her children ready to attend the party at the "big house") and 2) Carol, despite being the red-hot center of a morality tale for children, is genuinely sweet and pleasant rather than sickly treacly and creepily "too good." While her goodness is not quite believable, neither is it off-putting. I enjoyed the audio presentation, though I think the narrator's performance increases the twee factor--which the text itself is not free from, but which it manages not to drown in either.
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Christmas dinner party for all the children (nine of them) of the poor family next door and then of the party itself. In the end, Show Less
LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Sentimental yes, but not so mawkish even read during contemporary times. Mrs. Ruggles managing her lively brood's toilette and schooling them severely on their manners before they attend Carol's dinner party is the humorous highlight of the whole thing.
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Born on Christmas Day, and named in honor of the hymn Carol, Brothers, Carol, the sound of which was drifting in from the church next door just after her birth, Carol Bird was a kind-hearted, generous little girl—a true Christmas Child. Becoming ill when still quite young, she remained cheerful
Originally privately printed in 1886, and then published in 1888, The Birds' Christmas Carol was, according to the prefatory letter in the edition I read, author Kate Douglas Wiggin's first book. It was published in order to help fund the kindergarten she founded in San Francisco, and went on to become a very popular holiday tale. I found it enjoyable, and while I recognize that its eponymous heroine might be a little too perfect at times—something which I think will irritate some contemporary readers—I just took that as it was. The depiction of the little Ruggles, and the lessons on manners given to them by their mother, added a note of hilarity to what might otherwise have been a depressing tale, and there was a happy feeling throughout, despite Carol's illness, and eventualdeath . I found Wiggins' prose here sometimes quite moving, with an occasional aside well worth remembering. When she writes that "Love could do nothing, and when we have said that we have said all, for it is stronger than anything else in the whole wide world," I found myself nodding in agreement. I also greatly enjoyed the illustrations of Katharine R. Wireman, which were frequently quite lovely.
All in all, I am glad to have read this holiday classic, and while I don't think I enjoyed it quite as much as some of Wiggin's Christmas romances—The Old Peabody Pew, The Romance of a Christmas Card—and certainly nowhere near as much as her best-known work, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, it nevertheless made for a sweet seasonal tale.
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and bright, providing a good influence on her three brothers, and even upon her loving parents. Delighted that her beloved Uncle Jack was coming home for the holidays, Carol had a plan: to give the most wonderful Christmas to the nine Ruggles children living across the alley behind her house...Originally privately printed in 1886, and then published in 1888, The Birds' Christmas Carol was, according to the prefatory letter in the edition I read, author Kate Douglas Wiggin's first book. It was published in order to help fund the kindergarten she founded in San Francisco, and went on to become a very popular holiday tale. I found it enjoyable, and while I recognize that its eponymous heroine might be a little too perfect at times—something which I think will irritate some contemporary readers—I just took that as it was. The depiction of the little Ruggles, and the lessons on manners given to them by their mother, added a note of hilarity to what might otherwise have been a depressing tale, and there was a happy feeling throughout, despite Carol's illness, and eventual
All in all, I am glad to have read this holiday classic, and while I don't think I enjoyed it quite as much as some of Wiggin's Christmas romances—The Old Peabody Pew, The Romance of a Christmas Card—and certainly nowhere near as much as her best-known work, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, it nevertheless made for a sweet seasonal tale.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1886
Physical description
7.4 inches
ISBN
0590421182 / 9780590421188