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This Way to Christmas
Ruth Sawyer's This Way To Christmas tells the story of David, who is sent away from his family because of the first world war. Irish Johanna, David's old nurse, regards the other people on their isolated mountain as heathen. David finds companionship by visiting them, hearing their stories of Christmas, and retelling their stories to his hosts. David, who is younger and less prejudiced, communicates a vision of their shared humanity to his elders.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1916
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About the author
Ruth Sawyer
104 books29 followersRuth Sawyer 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.
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January 22, 2019ebook from https://archive.org/details/thiswayto...
February 3, 2021
When David's scientist father heads off to the battlefields of World War I, in order to study a new strain of bacillus just emerging in the soldiers, his mother accompanies his father and David himself is sent to the 'hill country,' where his former nurse Johanna now lives with her husband, Barney. These two good souls, both immigrants from Ireland, share their stories of the fairies with David, and soon he himself encounters one of these little people, in the form of the 'Locked-Out Fairy.' With the help of this magical guide, and prompted by his own loneliness, and his desire to find some sort of Christmas feeling, David begins to pay visits to the four other households on the snowbound mountain where he has come to stay. In each one he finds others who are also lonely, and feeling like exiles in this isolated place. There is Fritz Grossman, the German train signalman, who is shunned by everyone in the vicinity, because of his country of origin, and the outbreak of the war. There is old Uncle Joab, the African-American caretaker of the nearby lumber camp, who longs for former days in Virginia, and has only his fiddle to keep him company. There are the boy Alfred and his mother, who hail from somewhere in South America, and who are sojourning in the mountains because Alfred had been sick, and the mountain air was recommended by his doctor. And finally, there is Nicholas Bassaraba, the trapper who came from somewhere in southeastern Europe - most likely somewhere in the Balkans, given the story he shares, although Sawyer's geographic description is rather confusing, as she mentions Bassaraba' country being somewhere near both the Mediterranean and Prussia! - and who now lives by himself, far from anything he has ever known.
Each of these strangers make David welcome, and share a Christmas story with him, which he in turn shares with Johanna and Barney, softening the former's heart, and causing her to slowly reconsider her idea that all these foreigners and strangers must be 'heathens.' When the artist, Mr. Peter, unexpectedly arrives, David enlists his help in creating a most unusual Christmas celebration, one which will bring all of these strangers together in good fellowship. As he observes to this new friend, "Christmas isn't things - it's thoughts," and no thought is more important at this time of the year marking the birth of Christ, than love for one's fellow human beings. The Christmas Eve celebration is a marked success, and features another story of the season - the Irish folktale concerning Saint Bridget, and her magical journey to the Holy Land, to witness and participate in the Nativity - this time told by Johanna. When Christmas Day dawns, David's happiness is completed by one last blessing, in the form of ...
Originally published in 1916, at the height of World War I, Ruth Sawyer's This Way to Christmas is a poignant, hopeful tale, one which offers a strong rebuke to the acrimonious nationalism and disregard for common humanity that led to that conflict, and which situates Christmas, and what it represents, as an answer to those ills. It also offers a celebration of the idea of America as a place to which people of all backgrounds can come, and live together in peace. I found the inset stories presented by the characters fascinating and often moving. Barney's tale of Uncle Teig and his Christmas Eve journey with the fairies comes from Irish folklore, and is one I had just recently run across, in somewhat different form, in Eric A. Kimmel's Asher and the Capmakers: A Hanukkah Story . Johanna's retelling of the legend of Bridget is a story that can also be found in such books as Bryce Milligan's Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story . Some of the other stories, from the German tale of a Christmas apple, and how a miracle occurred when Hermann the clockmaker offered it as a gift to the Christ child, to Uncle Joab's tale of how Santa Claus allowed the animals to choose their own characteristics, were unknown to me. The story told by Alfred's mother comes from Spain - although she and her son are South American, the implication is that she was originally from that country - and is clearly a legend related to Three Kings Day, although Sawyer has gotten her dates wrong, situating the tale on Christmas Eve. One wonders whether this was owing to ignorance of the fact that Three King Day occurs in early January, or whether she changed it deliberately, in the belief that it would make her story more relatable for her young American readers. The story of the Romany (gypsy) people who sheltered the Holy Family somewhere in the Balkans, when they were on the run from Herod, was also interesting, as most scholars believe that this ethnic group began arriving in Europe sometime between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. The way in which the story is told reflects the now discarded idea that the Romany came from Egypt - thus, the name gypsies - rather than India.
In any case, the stories told by the characters here are interesting, and often moving, and are matched by the overarching story, which weaves them together in a narrative about appreciating the commonalities existing between seemingly different peoples. I appreciated this, and I appreciated the idea of Christmas as an idea, rather than just a collection of customs. I read the edition of this book that came out in 1924, and that featured the gorgeous color plate artwork of Maginel Wright Barney, something which greatly increased my reading pleasure. All that said, my enjoyment of This Way to Christmas was not unalloyed, as Sawyer's depiction of some of her characters is heavily reliant on stereotype. This is particularly apparent in her depiction of Uncle Joab, who is referred to as a 'darky' and 'n*gger' on more than one occasion, and who speaks in the broken dialect often assigned to African-American characters in vintage children's fiction. Although it is very progressive, on the one hand, that in 1916 Sawyer had her other characters welcome Uncle Joab into their midst, as one of themselves, the manner of his depiction is anything but progressive, and is an unfortunate mark of the times in which the story was created. In one very uncomfortable scene, he insists on waiting upon the rest of the guests, before eating himself, even when urged to desist. I have seen a review which mentioned reading this book to children, and omitting the dialect, the objectionable words mentioned above, and the scene in which Uncle Joab waits upon the other guests, and I think that this is a good compromise. The story here has undeniable worth, both in its telling and in its overall idea of Christmas as something that can bring people together, so I would hate to think it had to be discarded as a story for children, because of these objectionable elements. Older readers, of course, are capable of situating the story in its context, but for younger children, I would recommend this one only with adult involvement.
Each of these strangers make David welcome, and share a Christmas story with him, which he in turn shares with Johanna and Barney, softening the former's heart, and causing her to slowly reconsider her idea that all these foreigners and strangers must be 'heathens.' When the artist, Mr. Peter, unexpectedly arrives, David enlists his help in creating a most unusual Christmas celebration, one which will bring all of these strangers together in good fellowship. As he observes to this new friend, "Christmas isn't things - it's thoughts," and no thought is more important at this time of the year marking the birth of Christ, than love for one's fellow human beings. The Christmas Eve celebration is a marked success, and features another story of the season - the Irish folktale concerning Saint Bridget, and her magical journey to the Holy Land, to witness and participate in the Nativity - this time told by Johanna. When Christmas Day dawns, David's happiness is completed by one last blessing, in the form of ...
Originally published in 1916, at the height of World War I, Ruth Sawyer's This Way to Christmas is a poignant, hopeful tale, one which offers a strong rebuke to the acrimonious nationalism and disregard for common humanity that led to that conflict, and which situates Christmas, and what it represents, as an answer to those ills. It also offers a celebration of the idea of America as a place to which people of all backgrounds can come, and live together in peace. I found the inset stories presented by the characters fascinating and often moving. Barney's tale of Uncle Teig and his Christmas Eve journey with the fairies comes from Irish folklore, and is one I had just recently run across, in somewhat different form, in Eric A. Kimmel's Asher and the Capmakers: A Hanukkah Story . Johanna's retelling of the legend of Bridget is a story that can also be found in such books as Bryce Milligan's Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story . Some of the other stories, from the German tale of a Christmas apple, and how a miracle occurred when Hermann the clockmaker offered it as a gift to the Christ child, to Uncle Joab's tale of how Santa Claus allowed the animals to choose their own characteristics, were unknown to me. The story told by Alfred's mother comes from Spain - although she and her son are South American, the implication is that she was originally from that country - and is clearly a legend related to Three Kings Day, although Sawyer has gotten her dates wrong, situating the tale on Christmas Eve. One wonders whether this was owing to ignorance of the fact that Three King Day occurs in early January, or whether she changed it deliberately, in the belief that it would make her story more relatable for her young American readers. The story of the Romany (gypsy) people who sheltered the Holy Family somewhere in the Balkans, when they were on the run from Herod, was also interesting, as most scholars believe that this ethnic group began arriving in Europe sometime between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. The way in which the story is told reflects the now discarded idea that the Romany came from Egypt - thus, the name gypsies - rather than India.
In any case, the stories told by the characters here are interesting, and often moving, and are matched by the overarching story, which weaves them together in a narrative about appreciating the commonalities existing between seemingly different peoples. I appreciated this, and I appreciated the idea of Christmas as an idea, rather than just a collection of customs. I read the edition of this book that came out in 1924, and that featured the gorgeous color plate artwork of Maginel Wright Barney, something which greatly increased my reading pleasure. All that said, my enjoyment of This Way to Christmas was not unalloyed, as Sawyer's depiction of some of her characters is heavily reliant on stereotype. This is particularly apparent in her depiction of Uncle Joab, who is referred to as a 'darky' and 'n*gger' on more than one occasion, and who speaks in the broken dialect often assigned to African-American characters in vintage children's fiction. Although it is very progressive, on the one hand, that in 1916 Sawyer had her other characters welcome Uncle Joab into their midst, as one of themselves, the manner of his depiction is anything but progressive, and is an unfortunate mark of the times in which the story was created. In one very uncomfortable scene, he insists on waiting upon the rest of the guests, before eating himself, even when urged to desist. I have seen a review which mentioned reading this book to children, and omitting the dialect, the objectionable words mentioned above, and the scene in which Uncle Joab waits upon the other guests, and I think that this is a good compromise. The story here has undeniable worth, both in its telling and in its overall idea of Christmas as something that can bring people together, so I would hate to think it had to be discarded as a story for children, because of these objectionable elements. Older readers, of course, are capable of situating the story in its context, but for younger children, I would recommend this one only with adult involvement.
November 20, 2022
Oh! There is so much I love about this book!
For starters, it has one of those thoroughly magical, melt-in-your-mouth openings that needs to be added to the classic’s list. It’s a great moment where the author talks directly to the reader before returning behind the narrative’s veil and allowing the story to begin.
And the writing is beautiful! Smooth, classic, cozy and enthralling, the words merrily dance off the pages and float sweetly into your heart.
When David’s parents decide they must go help with the war efforts in Europe, he is sent to live with the nanny who took care of him as a baby. Feeling lonely and discouraged about a sullen Christmas ahead, David is startled one day by a squirrel he sees. But is it a squirrel? Or is it the locked-out fairy Johanna has told him about from the stories of her Irish heritage?
And so begins David’s journey to finding what makes up Christmas. Not the decorations or the dazzling store-front windows. Not the presents or the feast. It is the memories we make with people we show love to.
There are many delightful characters in this book and stories within stories, gathered from old legends that have been told around the world.
It’s a wonderful cultural Christmas experience with a lovely message.
Ages: 5+
Cleanliness: mentions fairies and there is a fairy in the story. Mentions Halloween. Santa Claus is in a story. Someone smokes a pipe. The word “negro” “n*gger” and “darky” are used - either by the author or the man himself. There are a few liberties taken with the nativity story. St. Bridget’s story is told and how she helped welcome in Mary and Joseph to the inn and helped nurse Jesus. Mentions “breast”.
For starters, it has one of those thoroughly magical, melt-in-your-mouth openings that needs to be added to the classic’s list. It’s a great moment where the author talks directly to the reader before returning behind the narrative’s veil and allowing the story to begin.
And the writing is beautiful! Smooth, classic, cozy and enthralling, the words merrily dance off the pages and float sweetly into your heart.
When David’s parents decide they must go help with the war efforts in Europe, he is sent to live with the nanny who took care of him as a baby. Feeling lonely and discouraged about a sullen Christmas ahead, David is startled one day by a squirrel he sees. But is it a squirrel? Or is it the locked-out fairy Johanna has told him about from the stories of her Irish heritage?
And so begins David’s journey to finding what makes up Christmas. Not the decorations or the dazzling store-front windows. Not the presents or the feast. It is the memories we make with people we show love to.
There are many delightful characters in this book and stories within stories, gathered from old legends that have been told around the world.
It’s a wonderful cultural Christmas experience with a lovely message.
Ages: 5+
Cleanliness: mentions fairies and there is a fairy in the story. Mentions Halloween. Santa Claus is in a story. Someone smokes a pipe. The word “negro” “n*gger” and “darky” are used - either by the author or the man himself. There are a few liberties taken with the nativity story. St. Bridget’s story is told and how she helped welcome in Mary and Joseph to the inn and helped nurse Jesus. Mentions “breast”.
January 3, 2023
A wonderful 10-chapter story that lends itself perfectly to being read aloud. Some readers may need to prepare for the dialect of the black cook. There are also several other dialects required, and I found it sometimes unclear when those changes need to be made.
December 28, 2020
There are so many things to discuss with This Way To Christmas. I've given it four stars instead of five or two hoping that the message of this book is not lost despite the author's ignorant attempts, hoping prospective readers understand that, while historically important, it contains dated and prejudicial portrayals. I hesitate to defend this book, but I must. Please read on. On the surface, it is a quaint story-within-a-story text about a lonely boy far from home who fears Christmas won't be right without the usual trimmings. There is a dash of magic thrown in (though it can be explained away) drawn from the culture of the guardians who are Irish immigrants. The language is compelling and the storytelling riveting. All the folk tales are sewn together with a layered narrative. The theme is that people of all backgrounds, races, and creeds ought to come together—no, must come together—in harmony. Unfortunately all the while the author is putting forth the common sense of viewing people for their actions not their stereotype, she writes from the skewed perspective of her upbringing. She uses unacceptable language and demeaning phonetic spelling to portray accent. And while her minority characters are endearing, they are still built on flawed models. Yet her message is one of inclusion and acceptance. Mild spoilers coming, but read on if you need more. To put it plainly, she introduces the secondary characters' viewpoint that her neighbors are heathens and so she wants nothing to do with them. The characters feel prejudice because one is descended from slaves, one is a German immigrant (during the war), one speaks a mysterious language from South America, and one is of unknown origin somewhere far to the east: despised for his unfamiliar heritage and dark skin as well as his unpleasant occupation (a trapper). Additionally the Rom are mentioned. It is not surprising considering the story was written in 1916, realistic both then and now. Through interactions with these neighbors, the characters learn that people are people no matter their skin color or origin. They reinforce the meaning of Christmas by introducing international folk tales from Santa to the magi and by showing that caring for one's neighbors is the greatest gift one can give. The child's visits with each of the characters dispels the fear that comes with meeting someone different from oneself. He learns that all people are equally precious. The story emphasizes kind and loving actions especially in the face of bigotry. If the author was unable to do so herself, she at least attempts to and from my perspective, is given the same grace I would have her extend to others. This book holds up best when read aloud to children with healthy discussions afterwards. Personally, I substitute for the words "d---y" and "n----r" when I read this, as I find them flatly offensive. There is also a sentence or two near the end where the African-American joyfully serves the dinner—which is both unnecessary and ridiculous, and can be omitted. I have found young listeners need even less explanation of the context of the story as they naturally harbor few of these stereotypes. I challenge you to give this book a try and then to share it with young people.
December 18, 2020
What a fantastic story filled with mini-stories that illuminate the beauty of the Christmas spirit. I read this aloud to my youngest daughter the last days of the semester before Christmas break, and she loved it. A wonderful way to launch the Advent season indwelling the heart of Christmas charity. Fiction that vividly and artistically shares truth in a profound manner. Lovely!
November 13, 2022
Found this little 1916 gem at a thrift store and picked it up strictly because it had the word "Christmas" in the title. I am so glad I'm a sucker for such things because this book proved a real treat to read!
It tells the story of a young boy named David who is sent by his parents to live with his former Irish nanny and her husband at a remote mountain lodge in New England during the First World War. Ultimately, this book is a story about how one does not need *things* to celebrate Christmas with - but people. It's a Melting Pot fairy tale and I was thoroughly engaged with it from beginning to end.
Highly recommended!
It tells the story of a young boy named David who is sent by his parents to live with his former Irish nanny and her husband at a remote mountain lodge in New England during the First World War. Ultimately, this book is a story about how one does not need *things* to celebrate Christmas with - but people. It's a Melting Pot fairy tale and I was thoroughly engaged with it from beginning to end.
Highly recommended!
November 2, 2014
I love this book. My grandma used to read it to me during Christmastime when I would sit at her feet by the little space heater she had and she would read the whole book to me with all the voices. It has become a family heirloom of sorts and I absolutely love it. :)
December 23, 2023
David's life is disrupted when his parents leave the country for reasons related to WW1. David goes to stay with former servants and Christmas of any description is in serious doubt. But David discovers "the way to Christmas" even in his isolated new home.
Some magic (or imagination) is involved but the book is primarily a collection of Chistmas legends from various places around the world. (Note the book does use some now dated language / terminology that I edited on the fly as I read aloud. Be aware of that if you're handing this one to an independent reader.)
My 13 year old daughter was enchanted and we're both glad this one jumped into my cart at a thrift store this year, because I had never heard of it and wouldn't have looked for it otherwise except it had "the look."
Some magic (or imagination) is involved but the book is primarily a collection of Chistmas legends from various places around the world. (Note the book does use some now dated language / terminology that I edited on the fly as I read aloud. Be aware of that if you're handing this one to an independent reader.)
My 13 year old daughter was enchanted and we're both glad this one jumped into my cart at a thrift store this year, because I had never heard of it and wouldn't have looked for it otherwise except it had "the look."
December 28, 2023
Awful, racist story. I'm honestly in shock that the reviews for this are so high? I was ready for a sweet little Christmas read, but this got more offensive with each page. This book should only be read as a historical document representative of society during the time of writing.
December 16, 2013
"I wonder if you know that stories have a way of beginning themselves? Sometimes they even do more than this. They tell themselves—beginning and ending just where they please—with no consideration at all for the author or the reader.
Perhaps you have discovered this for yourself; you may have in mind this minute some of the stories that you wished had begun long before they did—and others that ended before you thought they had any business doing so. These have a very unpleasant way of leaving your expectations and your interest all agog; and I have not a doubt that you have always blamed the author. This is not fair. In a matter of this kind an author is just as helpless as a reader, and there is no use in trying to coax or scold a story into telling itself her way. As sure as she tries the story gets sulky or hurt, picks up its beginning and ending, and trails away, never to come back; and that story is lost for all time. You may try it yourself if you do not believe me."
—"The Chapter Before the Beginning", This Way to Christmas, PP. 1-2
What can Christmas ever be spent apart from mother and father, when every Christmas of one's life has been passed in their company, the surety of the presence of close family as much a part of the holiday experience as any traditional activity of the season? And to be faced with the prospect of such a separation for Christmas at the age of eight, when yearly yuletide festivity is just beginning to feel like an event that can be depended on? This is David's morose dilemma as Christmas quickly approaches, the way special days have a way of doing when family is not around. While David's parents have been dispatched internationally to work on a special project, David is to spend Christmas at a hotel in the snowy mountains with the hotel's caretakers, Johanna and Barney, family friends who welcome David to spend the holiday in their midst. But David's expectations for Christmas with his parents have been blown apart, even as he tries to put on a brave front and convince others it isn't so bad having to pass the holiday away from family. In the cold mountains, there's little to do as the days tick by to Christmas, and with each successive twenty-four hours, David grows increasingly miserable about the lackluster Christmas headed his way. With seven days until December 25, what use is it even hoping for a nice holiday?
"When one loses the very things one always expects to have—big things like mother and father, home and the boys on the block—why, there is not so very much of the world left."
—This Way to Christmas, PP. 2-3
Yet David's fortunes turn dramatically when he spies a certain squirrel cavorting outdoors. A playful squirrel in winter is no rarity, but this is no ordinary animal, David can tell. How many squirrels watch the world through bright blue eyes? As David suspects, it isn't a squirrel at all, but a fairy, locked out of the regular winter dwelling place of all fairies, according to common legend. Like David, the fairy's plans for the season have gone distressingly awry, but this little immigrant imp from Ireland has no intention of curling up in defeat and watching Christmas pass as if it were any other day of the year. So begins David's tentative exploration of the area surrounding Johanna and Barney's hotel, led on by the locked-out fairy, where he meets sojourners of every race, mindset and station in life. Not at all sure he should make friends with such people after Johanna suggests they may be culturally beneath him, David finds his open-mindedness richly rewarded as he meets loner after loner who all share the same basic desires in life, to have friends and be a friend, to be respected by others and respect them in return, to pursue happiness and togetherness with those whose companionship appeals most to them. These people may come from assorted backgrounds and philosophies, but what is so different about them, after all? Aren't they honest, kind people desiring to be part of something bigger, a brotherhood of humanity that can ignore pesky divergences of opinion and learn to celebrate Christmas as friends? What binds this disparate collection of humans close is the stories they hear and tell, bringing a bit of their own culture to the table and relishing sharing it with their new companions, gaining insight into the cultures of the others as they reciprocate. It is story that gives them common ground where none might otherwise have existed, and as David observes the intimate winter party going on around him, he knows there's no longer cause to hide away from this Christmas because his parents can't be there to have it with him. David is part of a wonderful, memorable holiday get-together of his own, one sure to linger in his mind long after thoughts of other pleasant Christmases have faded. But is there a small Christmastide miracle waiting for David, courtesy of the locked-out fairy, or even someone else? Perhaps, but David doesn't need it for this to be a good Christmas. By reaching out in faith and friendship to those he didn't yet know, David has already taken care of that himself.
"(W)hen a body's got the habit o' thinking folks are not her kind o' folks it takes a powerful bit o' thinking to think them different."
—Johanna, This Way to Christmas, P. 146
The importance of This Way to Christmas to its original readers when the book was first published in 1916 cannot be overemphasized. Not only America, but almost the whole world was involved in the War to End All Wars, a time of such senseless bloodshed and global trauma, such unnecessary and copious death, people had to wonder if they were seeing the earth's last days, if the optimism of world peace a decade before was but a silly dream awoken from to the sanguine reality that would rule forevermore. In the midst of unyielding anguish, This Way to Christmas raised its voice in hope that people could still live in reconciliation, no matter what diversities appeared to divide them. There were still Christmases ahead in which individuals from every tribe and nation could lay down the gauntlet of ambitious aggression and partake together of a feast offered in peace, to no end but the enjoyment of one other's company. The clamor of combat would end, and harmonious coexistence still had a place in our world in spite of the horrors of this Great War destroying us. The seeds of hope and peace may not have originated in eight-year-old David, but surely they grow in his heart as we read this book, and spread on the winds of change to other hearts receptive to their care.
Ruth Sawyer writes beautifully, and has devoted more of her storytelling career to Christmas than just about any other Newbery Medal winner. While I wouldn't put This Way to Christmas on the same level of accomplishment as Roller Skates, the novel for which Ruth Sawyer won the Newbery in 1937, it is a strong, intelligently optimistic story from which we can all learn, an ideal read for the Christmas season, and I would give it two and a half stars. May the burning spirit of love and togetherness embodied in this book never disappear from the collective heart of mankind.
Perhaps you have discovered this for yourself; you may have in mind this minute some of the stories that you wished had begun long before they did—and others that ended before you thought they had any business doing so. These have a very unpleasant way of leaving your expectations and your interest all agog; and I have not a doubt that you have always blamed the author. This is not fair. In a matter of this kind an author is just as helpless as a reader, and there is no use in trying to coax or scold a story into telling itself her way. As sure as she tries the story gets sulky or hurt, picks up its beginning and ending, and trails away, never to come back; and that story is lost for all time. You may try it yourself if you do not believe me."
—"The Chapter Before the Beginning", This Way to Christmas, PP. 1-2
What can Christmas ever be spent apart from mother and father, when every Christmas of one's life has been passed in their company, the surety of the presence of close family as much a part of the holiday experience as any traditional activity of the season? And to be faced with the prospect of such a separation for Christmas at the age of eight, when yearly yuletide festivity is just beginning to feel like an event that can be depended on? This is David's morose dilemma as Christmas quickly approaches, the way special days have a way of doing when family is not around. While David's parents have been dispatched internationally to work on a special project, David is to spend Christmas at a hotel in the snowy mountains with the hotel's caretakers, Johanna and Barney, family friends who welcome David to spend the holiday in their midst. But David's expectations for Christmas with his parents have been blown apart, even as he tries to put on a brave front and convince others it isn't so bad having to pass the holiday away from family. In the cold mountains, there's little to do as the days tick by to Christmas, and with each successive twenty-four hours, David grows increasingly miserable about the lackluster Christmas headed his way. With seven days until December 25, what use is it even hoping for a nice holiday?
"When one loses the very things one always expects to have—big things like mother and father, home and the boys on the block—why, there is not so very much of the world left."
—This Way to Christmas, PP. 2-3
Yet David's fortunes turn dramatically when he spies a certain squirrel cavorting outdoors. A playful squirrel in winter is no rarity, but this is no ordinary animal, David can tell. How many squirrels watch the world through bright blue eyes? As David suspects, it isn't a squirrel at all, but a fairy, locked out of the regular winter dwelling place of all fairies, according to common legend. Like David, the fairy's plans for the season have gone distressingly awry, but this little immigrant imp from Ireland has no intention of curling up in defeat and watching Christmas pass as if it were any other day of the year. So begins David's tentative exploration of the area surrounding Johanna and Barney's hotel, led on by the locked-out fairy, where he meets sojourners of every race, mindset and station in life. Not at all sure he should make friends with such people after Johanna suggests they may be culturally beneath him, David finds his open-mindedness richly rewarded as he meets loner after loner who all share the same basic desires in life, to have friends and be a friend, to be respected by others and respect them in return, to pursue happiness and togetherness with those whose companionship appeals most to them. These people may come from assorted backgrounds and philosophies, but what is so different about them, after all? Aren't they honest, kind people desiring to be part of something bigger, a brotherhood of humanity that can ignore pesky divergences of opinion and learn to celebrate Christmas as friends? What binds this disparate collection of humans close is the stories they hear and tell, bringing a bit of their own culture to the table and relishing sharing it with their new companions, gaining insight into the cultures of the others as they reciprocate. It is story that gives them common ground where none might otherwise have existed, and as David observes the intimate winter party going on around him, he knows there's no longer cause to hide away from this Christmas because his parents can't be there to have it with him. David is part of a wonderful, memorable holiday get-together of his own, one sure to linger in his mind long after thoughts of other pleasant Christmases have faded. But is there a small Christmastide miracle waiting for David, courtesy of the locked-out fairy, or even someone else? Perhaps, but David doesn't need it for this to be a good Christmas. By reaching out in faith and friendship to those he didn't yet know, David has already taken care of that himself.
"(W)hen a body's got the habit o' thinking folks are not her kind o' folks it takes a powerful bit o' thinking to think them different."
—Johanna, This Way to Christmas, P. 146
The importance of This Way to Christmas to its original readers when the book was first published in 1916 cannot be overemphasized. Not only America, but almost the whole world was involved in the War to End All Wars, a time of such senseless bloodshed and global trauma, such unnecessary and copious death, people had to wonder if they were seeing the earth's last days, if the optimism of world peace a decade before was but a silly dream awoken from to the sanguine reality that would rule forevermore. In the midst of unyielding anguish, This Way to Christmas raised its voice in hope that people could still live in reconciliation, no matter what diversities appeared to divide them. There were still Christmases ahead in which individuals from every tribe and nation could lay down the gauntlet of ambitious aggression and partake together of a feast offered in peace, to no end but the enjoyment of one other's company. The clamor of combat would end, and harmonious coexistence still had a place in our world in spite of the horrors of this Great War destroying us. The seeds of hope and peace may not have originated in eight-year-old David, but surely they grow in his heart as we read this book, and spread on the winds of change to other hearts receptive to their care.
Ruth Sawyer writes beautifully, and has devoted more of her storytelling career to Christmas than just about any other Newbery Medal winner. While I wouldn't put This Way to Christmas on the same level of accomplishment as Roller Skates, the novel for which Ruth Sawyer won the Newbery in 1937, it is a strong, intelligently optimistic story from which we can all learn, an ideal read for the Christmas season, and I would give it two and a half stars. May the burning spirit of love and togetherness embodied in this book never disappear from the collective heart of mankind.
January 28, 2021
A comfy little bedtime read, in which WW1 is tacitly present but never directly referred to. Lucinda in Roller Skates also had an Irish nurse named Johanna; I wonder if it was the same one, or just a recycled character.
Sawyer often used the melting pot motif to add variety to her cast, and this book is no exception. Yes, she uses each character to present a different "Christmas tale from other lands", but in such an isolated mountain spot it was a bit odd to find a German, an African American (not so odd I guess), a man who must have been a Bulgarian or something (though his exact nationality is never specified, and in that case I think her geography got away from her) and a "Latin American" mother and son as well as the Irish couple. I put it in quotes advisedly, as they refer to S. America repeatedly, though the mother is supposedly from Spain...however, the Spain she refers to in her story sounds more like S. America (I know because I live in S. Spain and have for most of my life.) She also gets the date of the Festival of the Kings completely wrong as it takes place on Jan 5-6, not Dec 25. Some of her transliteration of dialect makes the text difficult to read, particularly as there's so much of different dialects.
I knew from the beginning of the book how it would end, but never mind.
Sawyer often used the melting pot motif to add variety to her cast, and this book is no exception. Yes, she uses each character to present a different "Christmas tale from other lands", but in such an isolated mountain spot it was a bit odd to find a German, an African American (not so odd I guess), a man who must have been a Bulgarian or something (though his exact nationality is never specified, and in that case I think her geography got away from her) and a "Latin American" mother and son as well as the Irish couple. I put it in quotes advisedly, as they refer to S. America repeatedly, though the mother is supposedly from Spain...however, the Spain she refers to in her story sounds more like S. America (I know because I live in S. Spain and have for most of my life.) She also gets the date of the Festival of the Kings completely wrong as it takes place on Jan 5-6, not Dec 25. Some of her transliteration of dialect makes the text difficult to read, particularly as there's so much of different dialects.
I knew from the beginning of the book how it would end, but never mind.
December 20, 2019
I read this book first more than 40 years ago when I was in graduate school and taking a class in services for children and youth. Ruth Sawyer had died a few years before, but her books and recordings were still on resource lists. One thing I remember lecturers warning us about was using dialects and accents that were not our own when telling tales from different cultures/countries. Her recording of The Voyage of the Wee Red Cap which she told using an Irish accent (she was from New York) was used as an example of what not to do. This collection of stories is a good one, but the reader should be aware that Sawyer writes several stories in dialect. Not recommended.
Read
December 26, 2020This is a hidden gem of Christmas books. Someone sent it to me a few years back and I fell in love with it immediately, and now read it every Christmas. A very simple story structure with charming characters, stories-within-stories, and plenty of old-fashioned Christmas cheer!
This book appears in day two of my "12 Pages of Christmas" video series: https://youtu.be/Klxksu0MWa4
This book appears in day two of my "12 Pages of Christmas" video series: https://youtu.be/Klxksu0MWa4
December 14, 2017
This precious story was first copyrighted in 1916 and lastly in 1952 when I was a small child. I remember my Dad reading me and my sister this story at Christmastime one year...making it especially dear to me.
December 14, 2020
This was a lovely Christmas story about reaching out to your immigrant and minority neighbors. The language is unfortunately racist in our ears since the book is published in 1916 (I think?) But the heart of the story is sweet.
November 22, 2022
Sweet story of how a lonely boy learns the true meaning of Christmas.
Warning: This book was written long before political correctness and has retained some words that might be offensive. Taken in the context of the time it was written, it was accurate.
Warning: This book was written long before political correctness and has retained some words that might be offensive. Taken in the context of the time it was written, it was accurate.
December 22, 2022
A fun new-to-me Christmas read. I'll share with the kids next year! I liked all the Christmas tales woven into the story and the encouragement towards Christmas hospitality and hope.
Read
February 13, 2023Not bad, just not very compelling. Not as interesting as her Newbery Award winner "Roller Skates".
did-not-finish
December 15, 2023I didn't realize this was a book with fairies in it. That just isn't my cup of tea.
January 1, 2024
An excellent Christmas tradition.
Read
November 19, 2024RTC
November 19, 2024
A cute, old-fashioned fairy tale-ish story about what Christmas is truly about and bringing together people despite their differences.
December 25, 2024
This is one of the sweetest stories I've ever read. My kids and I loved reading it together. 10/10, will read again. Highly recommend!
March 7, 2017
Great little book. A boy finds Christmas in his own way, with a little help from a "locked-out" fairy. Has some great teaching moments if you are reading to children. Highly recommended.
March 4, 2008
This is one of those books that has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time, bought because I love the author and it had a pretty cover. After seeing Melody's review on livejournal, I finally decided that maybe I should read it. It's a charming little book, and I loved the incorporation of several culture's holiday stories. A few little things made me twitch (portrayal of African Americans--and some of the words used to describe them), but a beautiful book.
April 28, 2015
I bought a beautiful vintage hardback copy of this book because I loved the author's other book, Maggie Rose: Her Birthday Christmas so much. This one I did not find to be quite as engaging and it felt dated.
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