Countdown to Christmas: 24 Magical Advent Stories

by Alexandra Stewart, Freya Hartas (Illustrator)

Overview

A beautiful illustrated advent treasury of 24 timeless holiday stories, poems, and songs to be shared with the whole family in the countdown to Christmas!

December is here and there is something special in the air! Children begin their countdown to Christmas Day and Santa's arrival, and what better way to do so with a new holiday story each day. Ride on the Snow Queen's sleigh, discover the elves secretly making shoes in the night, learn about the first Christmas in space, and snuggle in on Christmas Eve with Clement C. Moore's classic poem, "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."  

With stories beautifully retold by Alexandra Stewart and gloriously illustrated by Freya Hartas, this festive story treasury collects cheerful and uplifting tales to be shared together during the Christmas season

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798894141107
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	09/30/2025
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Alexandra Stewart is a journalist and ministerial speechwriter for the civil service sector. She lives in Wiltshire, UK, with her husband, two young children, and two grumpy rabbits.
 
Freya Hartas is a Bristol-based illustrator of children’s books.

Table of Contents

1. The Star Money (a folktale from Germany)
2. O Christmas Tree
3. Why the Christmas Tree Keeps Its Leaves
4. Speakin' O' Christmas (Paul Laurence Dunbar)
5. The Forest Witch (a fairy tale from Denmark)
6. The Twelve Days of Christmas
7. The Christmas Truce
8. The Elves and the Shoemaker (The Brothers Grimm)
9. Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas (Mary E. Wilkins Freeman)
10. The First Christmas in Space: Apollo 8
11. A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)
12. The Christmas Cuckoo (Frances Browne)
13. The Cat on Dovrefell (a folktale from Norway)
14. The Snow Queen (Hans Christian Andersen)
15. The Little Girl and the Winter Whirlwinds (a folktale from Bulgaria)
16. The Mitten (a folktale from Ukraine)
17. Mole's Christmas (Kenneth Grahame)
18. The Nutcracker (E.T.A. Hoffmann)
19. The Legend of Olentzero (a folktale from Spain)
20. A Christmas Inspiration (Lucy Maud Montgomery)
21. The Story of the Spider and the Christmas Tree (a folktale from Ukraine)
22. The Velveteen Rabbit (Margery Williams)
23. An Antarctic Christmas
24. The Night Before Christmas (Clement Clarke Moore)