Friday, December 16, 2011

The Father Christmas Letters

 
By J.R.R. Tolkien
edited by Baillie Tolkien 1976

J.R.R. Tolkien's children sure were lucky!  Every year their father would send them a letter from "Father Christmas" complete with beautiful illustrations.  The stories involved the antics of the North Polar Bear and various gnomes and goblins.  He drew pictures of the North Pole and Father Christmas' house (inside and out), the reindeer and caves where the goblins live.  The letters get more elaborate as the years go by and his children get older.  In true Tolkien fashion he even writes in Elvish and includes a goblin alphabet.

We loved reading the silly things the North Polar Bear did- the stories are cute and the drawings are great.
This edition shows much of the artwork and most of the letters, but there is a newer edition that includes fuller reproductions of the letters and their envelopes.


I love this idea so much and wish I had started it with my own kids!







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