A lonely boy in snowy hill country at Christmas meets a "locked-out fairy" who introduces him to equally lonely neighbors and each tells him a unique story of the Christmas season.

A charming collection of early 20th century Christmas stories brought together by award winning children's author Ruth Sawyer.

During WWI, one Christmas, a young boy finds himself stranded in a snowed-in hill community in upstate New York, and finds himself experiencing a Christmas he is not accustomed to. He meets a "locked-out fairy" who introduces him to equally lonely neighbours, all of whom were also spending the winter far from home, and each tells him a personal story of the Christmas season. Some stories the neighbours heard in their native homelands long ago. A final celebration brings all the neighbours of different nationalities together, forging relationships that will outlast the holiday season and sending a message of hope to a war-torn world. Suitable for reading to children aged up to 8 or as a gift to young readers aged 9 and up. 10% of the publisher’s profit is donated to charities. =============== Ruth Sawyer (August 5, 1880 – June 3, 1970) was an American storyteller and a writer of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. She may be best known as the author of Roller Skates, which won the 1937 Newbery Medal. She also received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (she who wrote Little House on the Prairie) in 1965 for her lifetime achievement in children's literature. =============== KEYWORDS/TAGS: This Way to Christmas, winter, USA, Snowed in, mountain community, upstate New York, share, stories, story, locked out fairy, home, immigrants, togetherness, adventure, storytelling, Barney, Bethlehem, born, Bridget, bring, children, Chris’mus, Christ-child, Christmas, Claus, clock-maker, clock, creatures, David, Dona, Eve, fairies, fairy, fiddle, roaring fire, flagman, friend, gather, gipsies, gray, great, happen, heart, Hermann, hill, holy, honey, Joab, Johanna, Josefa, King, lad, locked-out, lodge, Manuel, Mary, neighbours, neighbours, Nicholas, Peter, poor, reindeer, saint, Santa, Santy, squirrel, Teig, Uncle, window, world, ruth sawyer,

This Way to Christmas is a tale about a young boy David whose parents go on a trip and leave him in the care of an Irish couple, Joanna and Barney. In each chapter David listens to a new Christmas story or folk tale, learning more and more about the magic of Christmas, and its tradition and customs.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 edition. Excerpt: ... VIII THE CHRISTMAS THAT WAS NEARLY LOST IT snowed hard all the next day, so hard that even Barney did not venture out; and David spent his time between the kitchen, where Johanna was frosting the Christmas cake, and the woodshed, where Barney was making the "woodpile look mortal weary." David's mind was full of the happenings of the days that had passed, and of future plans. Everything had been as fine as a boy could wish, but he did not want it to stop. Here it was two days before Christmas, and he was quite sure there was still a lot to be found. The question was, where should he look for it now that the matter of neighbors had been exhausted? As for the plans, they were growing every minute; but he had decided to say nothing about them to Johanna and Barney until the next day, when they were full-grown. Of one thing David felt certain: nothing could keep Christmas away this year. And so when Barney began to tease him on one of his trips to the woodshed and say that if this weather lasted he guessed the Christmas present from father would get there about Washington's Birthday and that he guessed it would take a Santa Claus with seven-league boots to make the hilltop this year, David just smiled and looked very wise. Something was going to happen; he knew perfectly well that something was going to happen. And so, when it actually did happen, about half-way between dinner and supper time, he was not nearly as surprised as Johanna and Barney, who in a way might have expected it. They were all three startled by a banging on the door and a stamping and pounding of feet outside. So loud did it sound in the midst of the silence that David thought there must be at least a dozen men. Great was bis astonishment, therefore, when Barney swung open...

This Way to Christmas is a tale about a young boy David whose parents go on a trip and leave him in the care of an Irish couple, Joanna and Barney. In each chapter David listens to a new Christmas story or folk tale, learning more and more about the magic of Christmas, and its tradition and customs.