Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Birds' Christmas Carol
    The Birds' Christmas Carol
    The Birds' Christmas Carol
    Ebook96 pages57 minutes

    The Birds' Christmas Carol

    By Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateNov 1, 1974
    The Birds' Christmas Carol

    Read more from Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

    Related to The Birds' Christmas Carol

    Related ebooks

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      THE BLACK SPIDER Part Two

      Oct 30, 2019

      THE BLACK SPIDER Part Two
      25 min read

    • Article

      Yuletide Reading

      Sep 24, 2020

      Many classic novels and short stories contains Christmas scenes-merry or otherwise. Can you indentify the works from which these holiday passages are excerpted? 1 “Merry Christmas, little daughters! I’m glad you began at once, and hope you will keep

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Black Spider

      Sep 27, 2019

      The Black Spider
      11 min read

    • Article

      ‘For Everyone Who Knocks, The Door Will Be Opened’

      Dec 13, 2023

      Future Publishing Ltd, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 6JR 0330 390 6591; www.countrylife.co.uk REST assured, no emperor has given an order or issued a decree. But nonetheless, at Christmas, many of us will follow one particular Bib

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Gift Of Reading

      Dec 7, 2022

      by Isla Fisher, illustrated by Paula Bowles (£12.99, HB, Welbeck) Mazy isn’t your average dog. While other pups are frolicking in the park, she’s having her fur fluffed and pursuing an acting career in Hollywoof. But some bad news is about to shake

      3 min read

    • Article

      Books To Enjoy With Your Family

      Dec 9, 2018

      Books To Enjoy With Your Family
      2 min read

    • Article

      Charlie Brown’s Inside Job

      Dec 24, 2020

      Charlie Brown’s Inside Job
      6 min read

    • Article

      Peacebunny ISLAND

      Aug 26, 2021

      Peacebunny ISLAND
      4 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reading Guide

      Jan 2, 2022

      Summer Reading Guide
      6 min read

    • Article

      Black Christmas

      Oct 26, 2021

      Black Christmas
      3 min read

    • Article

      Read, Read, Read, Because…

      Sep 27, 2023

      Starting school can often be a fraught, nervewracking time for you and your children, but this is not a problem a few unicorns can’t solve. Welcome to Unicorn School. Have a Magical First Day! tells the story of Rocky and how his first day does not g

      3 min read

    • Article

      Glad Tidings

      Apr 10, 2024

      I unwrap my grandmother’s tinkling candle carousel without incident. We’ve used the same bubble wrap for years, and I’m not sure what good the airless plastic does to protect it, but anyway, the metal is tarnishing. Next, I arrange the poinsettias my

      12 min read

    • Article

      A Plain Little House

      Apr 8, 2019

      The house is real, not imaginary. But it is also a place lodged deep in the imagination, a dream place whose actual coordinates have been forgotten. In the last years of her very long life, my mother’s memory, eroded by time and general anaesthetics,

      3 min read

    • Article

      Prevarication Jones

      May 1, 2019

      Prevarication Jones
      16 min read

    • Article

      A child's Christmas in Northern Ireland

      Oct 18, 2023

      During Christmases of the 1950s and 1960s, Northern Irish children knew nothing of present mountains. What we did know about was dancing and skipping for weeks in anticipation of the one present we knew we would get. This surprise sat tantalisingly b

      3 min read

    • Article

      Floating

      Mar 11, 2019

      Floating
      14 min read

    • Article

      Christmas Q&A with K‘Lee

      Dec 7, 2020

      WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY TRADITION? Christmas Eve lunch/dinner. It’s the one time we can all catch up as a whānau to eat, watch the kids play and just celebrate the year and all that’s happened. FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS SONG? LEAST FAVOURITE? I love

      2 min read

    • Article

      Julia Donaldson monster Talent

      Sep 5, 2022

      Small children quaking in their boots about starting or returning to school could try turning to Julia Donaldson for comfort. In her latest book, The Baddies, illustrated by her regular collaborator Axel Scheffler, the best-selling children’s author

      3 min read

    • Article

      Best Books For Children

      Nov 4, 2020

      The sugar glider possum may be the smallest creature in the rainforest, but when Santa’s reindeer Comet sprains her ankle, Snap decides to audition for stand-in. Warren the Wallaby just laughs. But will Snap have the last laugh? This illustrated hard

      4 min read

    • Article

      Tractors, trifles & TRADITIONS

      Nov 28, 2021

      Here in Auckland this year, we’ll be holding a rehearsal for the Christmas that my family dreams of – the one where we’re all together in the same place at the same time, probably making so much noise, the neighbours call the cops. But with half my c

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Easter Hare

      Apr 1, 2022

      The Easter Hare
      3 min read

    • Article

      Unpacking Great-Aunt Gertrude’s Plum Pudding

      Dec 16, 2020

      As a child, I knew her only as the quirky lady with the odd gifts. It turns out there was much more.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Feeling Grand?

      Sep 10, 2020

      Feeling Grand?
      6 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Nov 9, 2022

      Book Club
      5 min read

    • Article

      Close to My Heart

      Oct 27, 2020

      Close to My Heart
      6 min read

    Reviews for The Birds' Christmas Carol

    4/5

    95 ratings13 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      The Birds' Christmas Carol by Wiggin_ Kate Douglas SmithBaby 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. 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).
    • 4/5
      A bit of a tearjerker, but with humor as well, and a good Christmas message about caring for the poor.
    • 3/5
      A sweet old-fashioned story written in the late 19th century. The amusing preparation the impoverished Ruggles' children had to endure before attending the affluent Carol Bird's Christmas party was worth a couple of stars alone.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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 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, 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.
    • 5/5
      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 (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)
    • 4/5
      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, starting from a young age. The language is charming, but old, so some help may be needed for independent reading, ages 8-10.
    • 5/5
      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!
    • 5/5
      One of the many books I read annually between Thanksgiving and Christmas. An excellent Christmas story from the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
    • 5/5
      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 often.
    • 5/5
      A lovely vintage story of unselfishness and Christmas. A classic.
    • 4/5
      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.

    Book preview

    The Birds' Christmas Carol - Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

    }1^book_preview_excerpt.html}Xn8~3Y`;[4M&0Ďc X%[ITI)],07${2O!%I:sy~󝏇>/FqEE$敥0tL([O,O4&jQ- L%yWZ`DBm* **4V.ΎrQqtaij(!=r`ِڨG[| ϭ)#߰D*ir!LŲ=EՉL:S.j""SKen:f:LTɏjpXW6 ߥ̤@d#,Hw)c?M3QljqɔQ~52./C܅x9b /t1]^z9]7C< Lx$#ZU41rC@[FeMnA^e @kYxGi߄ FD;ȹ iU߾b<,d嗤p"iƴLfxE嘦!],dz<0zlM`PV<8G > 1wVO'kڗw5MgU|b.4h>s;{Lfpy^l9규|]U <2*@odQa9ǀޝ xr[E!s_lݱ[8Īɪٌ6|,?G4_FݽpwkŒn>+ް\tXt|Pi8}C';XNG1wqy.Ⓒ;\; z94!A hw/>NAx= hvw8 #^0CG<ᤇvdZҲl2iH'ޑ2kГDzP{*eK%㞔`gT҉qzHC(s*։4쿣=lc rOS%u #(Vju?t t}Esy=,s8ȶH֧ ;8{+)*u+z#onsO ;S3u;x[b\xuDI+46Sڊ[V+m$ST~xr,a2.e!`7H\P܈(-"[ VO_DaSO4]x>|NNvuQ-n<(1U֙[fxNnb0uQdJ<|.cqca9ك+F/P S6MAx5_;$Tz!)LXMX7JeYB٦mP;^Wd"sj`Xҥ vs9Eק:K(P*8|<#T@H`qZzmݼdg)W!-1wBaun8`6' 8l9&.EPTOqQbDk&{EQh!`vXgU#Epb`+nN66h';YQ:w=ucwwH`˾j1sH]MbEbͶڏb5H&0b06H7 +R9mڝѭ3gpV,0lg8DF0/W!Qu):TIj ?I0 Qdd 5@sU(sP9;`$ ]ؐw hk 2H +KkbmmXS )nT*J'=&bϻeF:ZV⫻R)LϸDٸt1`n"4!Idw.갧{{tON yZdr6`"3Cţ2DdUwDU'Z[wXm%Xk$ exc<7FR=\yGu@X̡ꊃ2NjX2%{یz#A۽uǶn S:ƿh- :8RPަS2 X{+,3g} y}ƕNm3]w>@<-uSpS6} c۳_ȶ1:z]k0Wq$:rxhEl@ܱ<,_sf]{ 8+.O`Əp"E^ݲ,p4S +@1뭫"Bmد3ܤVYD+9,Y#c
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1