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The Gift of the Magi
by
O. Henry
An illustrated version of O. Henry's classic and touching story about generosity, with superb pictures. We suggest this little book as a slight, but perfect, Christmas book. It tells of the mutual love and self-sacrifice of a young married couple. It is about the best kind of gift giving, and of course, takes its title from the first Christmas gift givers, the three Magi o...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
July 1st 2007
by Laughing Elephant
(first published 1905)
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Mike
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone
Recommended to Mike by:
Miss Robins, English Teacher, Seventh Grade
O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," illustrated by Lizabeth Zwerger was among my gifts to my wife our first Christmas together. It is one of our annual traditions that I read it to her each Christmas. Yes, I'm hopelessly romantic. I imagine we'll finally hit a year when I hear a gentle snore when she nods off as I'm reading.
"ONE dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the gr...more
"ONE dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the gr...more
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I always make references to this story. It's simple and heartbreaking and wonderful. The ending gives me chills:
The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who mo...more
The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who mo...more
This is one book which bring tears in my eyes everytime I read it. The story of a young couple, living their banalities with grace. Who tries to snatch away a happy moment from time, instead what they got was the happiest moment of their lives. Those who have alraedy read the book must be surprised by this comment. But ladies and gentlemen, don't you think that happiness is being in the arms of that someone special instead of a valuable gift. A must read for every love-sick puppy and for all tho...more
The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days le...more
This wonderful story has been the foundation and inspiration for countless stories based on the premise that our desire to give the gift of love in the form of something unaffordable without personal sacrifice often comes with a twist.....the recipient is mirroring that gift of love with a similar sacrifice and the givers meet headlong---rendering their gifts useless given the sacrifices needed to attain them, but elucidating the beauty of the gift of love. Many of us first read this short stor...more
This was another one of the books on the list of short stories passed around during English class, yet "Gift of the Magi" most notably caught my attention because it sounded so familiar. I wracked my mind for where I could have possibly heard of the title or the author, coming up with either my New Magics anthology (Colin told me that Magi was another term for magic) or my Creative Writing class. Left without an answer before class ended, it was ironically my Art teacher who knew about...more
My enjoyment of this was mostly ruined by the fact that I already knew the ending, and also that I felt I've seen adaptations that were more emotionally impactful, (Mickey and Minnie's version being one of them.) I normally wouldn't be able to connect to a short story in the first place, but I thought the tone and language used pushed me away even further. What exactly was the meaning of the pork chops? (I feel like if I read this in a Literature class the pork chops would mean something ... I'd...more
Oft retold tale that remains an enduring classic. My vote for best spin-off is the Sesame Street version featuring Bert and Ernie. Bert forgoes his prized paper clip collection to buy Ernie a soap dish for his beloved Rubber Duckie. Meanwhile, Ernie hocks Rubber Duckie in order to purchase a cigar box for Bert's paper clip collection. No fear, Mr. Hooper saves the day, returning the buddies possessions just in the nick of time on Christmas morning.
This is a story about true love and sacrifice. Della is a poor young lady who lived in New York City in a little apartment. She wanted the perfect gift for her soulmate, Mr. Jim for Christmas. ,Unfortunately she had only one dollar and eight cents. she went to the store and bought Jim a gold chain for his pocket watch. Jim came in and he was surprised. Della cried explaining how she sold her beautiful long brown hair in order to buy him this gold chain, but the unexpected surprise was that he so...more
One of my favorites, and this edition of O. Henry's classic is so beautifully illustrated. It never fails to bring on the tears. I used to read this to the fifth graders every year when I was a school librarian. The message is so important, and follows nicely on the heels of the familiar Whos down in Whoville who held hands and sang without packages, boxes, or bags.
'The Gift of the Magi'-an interesting story with a clever twist to it. It revolves around Della, who had only a dollar and eighty-seven cents with to which to buy her husband, Jim, a christmas present. Unwitfully sacrifices her most valued possession-her hair, for twenty dollars, with which she uses to buy Jim a watch chain to suit his most valued possession, a gold watch which was his family heirloom.
During the exchanging of gifts, Della realizes that Jim had bought expensive combs ...more
During the exchanging of gifts, Della realizes that Jim had bought expensive combs ...more
A story that basically everyone knows well and loves to no end. I decided to read this on Goodreads because there was an eBook available and it was much shorter than I had thought it would be.
Considering the fact that everyone seems to have read this made me feel slightly ridiculous for having not. I know many people consider it to be "the most perfect story ever written", but I didn't feel that.
In my opinion, it seemed reasonable that two people who wereblind...more
Considering the fact that everyone seems to have read this made me feel slightly ridiculous for having not. I know many people consider it to be "the most perfect story ever written", but I didn't feel that.
In my opinion, it seemed reasonable that two people who were
Tracy
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who enjoy irony
Recommended to Tracy by:
I think it was an in-school read
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This is not the version of my book I wanted to add here today. I recently acquired a very old copy of this story, in a hard cover, box version, with lovely illustrations by Kevin King that was owned by either my stepfather in his childhood or his mother.
I still kind of both love and do not love this story. It's such a great love, to each give up their most precious object because they decide the joy of the one with them is worth even more than that, and yet it is a story ridiculed to ...more
I still kind of both love and do not love this story. It's such a great love, to each give up their most precious object because they decide the joy of the one with them is worth even more than that, and yet it is a story ridiculed to ...more
One of my fav heart warming stories to read. The first time I read this story was for a class assignment and I was not really into it. It took me a while to concentrate on the story, but once I did I loved every word. The second time I came across the book while browsing my library and the floods of rich warm emotions came back to me. The book is about a newly married couple who do not have enough of money to buy a Christmas Gift for their better half. The manner in which they sacrifice themselv...more
Great book that I think everyone a one point or another should read, although some might find it too cheesy, I first read this book in the 4th or 5th grade and it's always stuck with me but it wasn't until recently that I decided to read again and just as I thought I loved it just like I did then and very few stories can combine a heartfelt ideal with humor and have it be so well written and I'd have to reccomend this to anyone who would like to read a short and simple story because whether you'...more
Ah O. Henry-the king of irony. I loved and hated this story as a kid, the ironic twist was like a kick in the gut each time I read it. I much preferred the "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" take on the story where Bert trades his paper clip collection to Mr. Hooper to buy Ernie a soap dish to hold Rubber Duckie and Ernie trades Rubber Duckie to get a cigar box for Bert to keep his paper clips in but in the end, Mr. Hooper comes over and gives Ernie Rubber Duckie and Bert his paper cli...more
Oddly enough this is the first time I have ever read this classic short story. I watched a modern day retelling on the Hallmark Channel and thought it was a great movie and did not realize that it was fashioned after this book. It is definitely a bit much to get through, just because of how old it is with the language and all, but you still walk away with a smile and are able to understand the meaning despite the difficulty with the way it is written. Definitely reminds you of the real meanin...more
How adorable is not this story? A couple with no money but with the love that no money could ever buy. Della with her hair and Jim with his watch, their most precious belongings sold to make money enough for a present each.
I must say that in the end of the story I; however, did not care anymore about the hair that would make her majesty jealous or the watch that would make any collector rub his beard. Dell and Jim must be the perfect couple in one sense because they loved each other ...more
I must say that in the end of the story I; however, did not care anymore about the hair that would make her majesty jealous or the watch that would make any collector rub his beard. Dell and Jim must be the perfect couple in one sense because they loved each other ...more
I read a story in class sixth sitting in a school library.The story remained with me all along but in time its name got faded from my memory.
A friend of mine told me to read this story and just as I read the first line, my nameless story got its name back.
This story is one of the most memorable stories I have read:D
A very short read but has a lot in it to pass onto the reader.Its not always me,my,myself...Sometimes its about the other person in your life whom ...more
A friend of mine told me to read this story and just as I read the first line, my nameless story got its name back.
This story is one of the most memorable stories I have read:D
A very short read but has a lot in it to pass onto the reader.Its not always me,my,myself...Sometimes its about the other person in your life whom ...more
Practically a Christmas classic, I always enjoy reding this story over and over again, it makes me feel happy and sad at the same time. A story of sacrificial love, the young couple are considered "the wisest of them all" because they learned that the truth gift of Christmas is the sharing of love and company between your loved ones. If everyone in the world reads this story and applied the message it sends, I am sure the world would be a betterplace morally, and brotherly.
The number of great stories you can “sneak read” between lectures is surprising :p
It’s equally surprising when short stories manage to melt your heart when sometimes 1000 pages fail to do so. Generally those stories are written my masters like O Henry, Leo Tolstoy, and Guy De Maupassant etc. The Gift of magi is one such story and it is also connected with some amazing memories. 5 stars all the way..
It’s equally surprising when short stories manage to melt your heart when sometimes 1000 pages fail to do so. Generally those stories are written my masters like O Henry, Leo Tolstoy, and Guy De Maupassant etc. The Gift of magi is one such story and it is also connected with some amazing memories. 5 stars all the way..
Such an amazing book! My mom told me the actual story when I was a little kid, I didn't know this was the title but then when I looked at the description I knew it had to be it. It's such a great tale of the sacrifices we make to make other's happy, and how the couple loved each other so much that they would give up their greatest possessions because they loved each other. Recommended for all ages. A must read!
The Gift of the Magi is a true Christmas inspiration. Jim and Delia's gifts to each other, or rather what they do to get those gifts is truly touching. O'Henry writes a story of warmth and giving. He always makes me think about Christmas in the way I believe it was meant to be - a feeling of giving more than receiving. Isn't this what we should be doing at this time of year - putting others before ourselves?
This story is beautiful. I want to find someone who loves me this much to share my life with. The story itself is good enough to merit the 5 stars, but it is also a special story from my growing up years. My grandpa loved to tell this story and I heard it from him growing up long before I learned who O. Henry was. This story never fails to bring back many great memories of my childhood and my most beloved grandpa.
I love O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" and it's timeless message of love and sacrifice. I make it a point to try and read it at least once every holiday season. However, this particular version, with illustrations by P.J. Lynch ("The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey") is my personal favorite. The artwork is absolutely exquisite, and captures the message and spirit of the Christmas season perfectly.
Received as a stocking stuffer...and what a fantastic one!
To find "the" gift someone would want (without perhaps even knowing it themselves) takes the much greater gift of love; encompassing sacrifice, thought, care, and the shared joy in giving/receiving such a special gift, and this short story captures that spirit of love & generosity perfectly.
Happy New Year! :)
To find "the" gift someone would want (without perhaps even knowing it themselves) takes the much greater gift of love; encompassing sacrifice, thought, care, and the shared joy in giving/receiving such a special gift, and this short story captures that spirit of love & generosity perfectly.
Happy New Year! :)
I had forgotten about this story to the point where, when a friend recommended it, I thought I had never read it. I found it in a Christmas anthology I've had since college and remembered it pretty quickly once I picked it up again. It's very brief and a great story to read or re-read at holiday time. In my mind, I picture an Edward Hopper scene.
It was our first Christmas together and we received this book in the mail. I've heard the story before and in different versions, but this is the classic and the illustrations by P.J. Lynch are beautiful and convey the story eloquently.
It is a truly touching tale and my husband and I both had to hug each other after reading it together.
It is a truly touching tale and my husband and I both had to hug each other after reading it together.
I found this story depressing as a kid. The ironic and abrupt ending seemed sad. I read this again with my students this year and realized for the first time the depth of love this couple had for one another to give up what was described as their most prized possessions. They were wise givers after all! So glad I read this again as an adult.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mongolian Readers: Маш хөөрхөн богино өгүүллэг :-)) - The Gift of the Magi | 2 | 13 | Dec 28, 2011 09:17pm | |
| It's the thought that counts | 2 | 13 | Oct 16, 2011 08:57pm |
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O. Henry is the pen name of William Sydney Porter, a short story writer who began his career as an author while serving time in the Ohio Penitentiary under charges of embezzlement. Best known for his surprise endings and twists, he was sometimes called America's answer to Guy de Maupassant. He also coined the term "banana republic" while visiting Honduras in the 1890s, having left the ...more
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“Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
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“There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
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