A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas & Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman (Gift Edition) [Review & Giveaway]

"A Welsh poet recalls the celebration of Christmas in Wales and the feelings it evoked in him as a child." --by Dylan Thomas 1914-1953

My thoughts: Prepare yourself, and your child/children, for a journey back in time for boyhood stories spun from the pen of a Welsh poet. The poetic prose will draw word pictures your mind has forgotten how to frame.

Please note, this little book is not poetry. It is prose. The author, Dylan Thomas was a poet. Below I have shared one of his poems.

The stories begin with young boys out in the cold, snowy December afternoon on Christmas Eve and they spy some cats. So they begin to make snowballs to throw at the cats. When they hear a lady screaming "fire" and smoke is coming out of the house. 

Only that is my flat, plain way of describing the beginning story. Dylan Thomas' silver pen wraps words around each other and you can see deeper into the scene, feel the cold bite of the December snow, hear the action. 

What a joy to read such descriptive prose. 

Then we continue on with another of the Christmas boyhood experiences. I don't know if the author told his remembrances of a single Christmas or over a span of years. But they are boyhood recollections. They are beautifully told. The boys actions speak to boys everywhere through the years. Boys in the cold snow. Boys with aunts and uncles at Christmas. Boys and their escapades.

Beautifully told, a treasure to have a recall the days when writing was replete with detailed descriptions, long and thorough sentences. 

I would be remiss to not speak about the wonderful illustrations. So many, so detailed, so expressive. They truly capture the time, place, emotions, actions. I love them.

ISBN: 9780823438709
$14.95 US

About the book: The enduring holiday classic, lavishly illustrated by multiple Caldecott Medalist Trina Schart Hyman, is now available in a gift edition for a new generation of readers.

This nostalgic recollection of Christmas past by celebrated Welsh poet Dylan Thomas evokes the beauty and tradition of the season at every turn: the warmth of a family gathering; the loveliness of a mistletoe-decked home; the predictability of cats by the fire; the mischief and fun of children left to their own devices; and the sheer delight of gifts—be they Useful or Useless.

Readers will cherish this beautiful hardcover edition of the classic A Child's Christmas in Wales complete with gold-foil stars, a debossed, glossy front picture, and sparkling snowflakes. Once inside, readers are rewarded with stunning, midnight-blue endpapers sprinkled with a flurry of more snowflakes. This book is a must-have gift for the season.

Brilliantly illustrated by Caldecott medalist Trina Schart Hyman with a combination of more than 40 full-color and sepia-toned images, this beautiful edition of Thomas's beloved classic will enchant readers of all ages, year after year.

I found a YouTube audio of Dylan Thomas himself reading this book. Wow! Wonderful! Click Here

GIVEAWAY

Begins October 20

Ends November 15 @ 12:01 a.m. ET

Open to USA addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieve it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

        --Dylan Thomas

DISCOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given. Winner's prize is provided and shipped directly to the winner by Holiday House Publishing or publicist. Chat With Vera is not responsible for lost or misdirected prizes.