Narrated by the author, this charming original story reveals that Santa himself never celebrated Christmas until one year when a gruff, growly polar bear pointed this out to his elves. They decide to treat Santa royally and help decorate his house for a holiday celebration--complete with gifts delivered by the bear, who is dressed in red and growls a deep-voiced "ho-ho-ho." Barnett imbues the elves with childlike wonder and naïveté and Santa with a kind, gentle demeanor--though he's disappointed when he's limited to only one cookie. Holiday music opens and closes the production, framing it beautifully. Occasional sound effects--wind, feet crunching snow, breaking glass, the crackle of a fire, and presents being unwrapped--add fullness to this sweet story.
(Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
Duration: 7 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217066988
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Stephen Fry delivers a heartwarming and spirited performance in this fresh production on the origins of Christmas rituals. Fry's dynamic narration brings out the humor as well as the heartache in young protagonist Nikolas, who sets off on an adventure to find his father and stumbles upon a mystical elf kingdom. Fry's hearty range of voices expresses not only Nikolas's quiet bravery, anguish, and joy during his journey but also a myriad of animated human and nonhuman characters, including a humorous troll and a sweet elf. Fry's delightful storytelling weaves heartfelt emotion with the magic of elves and the power of goodness, making it easy to believe in Christmas.
(Fantasy. 6-13)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2016
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780735207806
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Charles Dickens loved to read his own words to his audiences. Since he can't do that now, he would possibly settle for someone else doing the narration, and he'd be hard-pressed to find a reader more able than Miriam Margolyes. Her rendering of everyone's wintertime favorite, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, is masterfully done, with a remarkable range of vocal talent capturing this tale of Scrooge and his redemption from a miserly existence. She excels at Marley and the three ghosts, making each of them distinctive according to his role in the proceedings as Scrooge visits his past, present, and future. Margolyes is drama personified, loud, soft, plaintive, frightened, annoyed, sorrowful and, finally, rejoicing. Top marks for this one; Dickens would be delighted.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1999
Duration: 3 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: AudioGo
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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