The Birds' Christmas Carol

Illustration by Katharine R. Wireman from "The Birds' Christmas" by Kate Douglas Wiggin

The Birds' Christmas Carol is a novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin printed privately in 1886 and published in 1888[1] with illustrations by Katharine R. Wireman. Wiggin published the book to help fund the Silver Street Free Kindergarten, which she founded in 1878.[1]

The story is about Carol Bird, a Christmas-born child, who as a young girl is unusually loving and generous, having a positive effect on everyone with whom she comes into contact. She is the youngest member of her family and has devoted older brothers. At about the age of 5, Carol contracts an unspecified illness (possibly tuberculosis), and, by the time she is 10, she is bedridden; physicians say that she does not have long to live. The novel primarily involves Carol making plans for a Christmas celebration for the nine Ruggles children, a poor, working-class family living near the Birds. The story is primarily a wistful moral tale about a saintly child, but is enlivened by many humorous scenes, particularly those concerning the home life of the Ruggles family.

In 1917, the story was adapted as the silent movie "A Bit o' Heaven" starring Mary Louise as Carol, Donald Watson and Ella Gilbert as Mr. and Mrs. Bird and Mary Talbot as Mrs. Ruggles.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Crump, William D. (2001-09-15). The Christmas Encyclopedia, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 41. ISBN 9781476605739 – via Google Books.

External links

The Birds' Christmas Carol public domain audiobook at LibriVox


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