Nibsy's Christmas

by Jacob A. Riis

Jacob August Riis (1849-1914) was a Danish- American muckraker journalist, photographer, and social reformer. He is known for his dedication to using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the less fortunate in New York City, which was the subject of most of his prolific writings and photographic essays. He helped with the implementation of "model tenements" in New York with the help of humanitarian Lawrence Veiller. As one of the first photographers to use flash, he is considered a pioneer in photography. His works include: How the Other Half Lives (1891), The Children of the Poor (1892), Out of Mulberry Street (1896), A Ten Years' War (1900), The Making of an American (1901), The Battle with the Slum (1902), Children of the Tenements (1902), The Peril and the Preservation of the Home (1903), Theodore Roosevelt: The Citizen (1904), The Old Town (1909), Hero Tales of the Far North (1910) and Neighbors: Life Stories of the Other Half.

Genres: Christmas, Fiction, Classics, Short Stories

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1893

About the author

Reports, including How the Other Half Lives (1890), of Danish-born American journalist and reformer Jacob August Riis on living conditions in city slums led to improvements in housing and education.

This Christian helped the impoverished in city of New York; much of his writing focused on those needy. In his youth in Denmark, he read Charles Dickens and James Fennimore Cooper; his works exhibit the story-telling skills, acquired under the tutelage of many English-speaking writers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Riis

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can see why most people haven't heard of the title story.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this on Christmas Eve. How fitting.

Riis is a great writer, and these are true stories, to be sure. He certainly never wasted an opportunity to reach others with the truth, and I admire that greatly.

[Janis · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you’re looking for uplifting Christmas tales, keep lookin’. This ain’t it. Suffering people living in abject poverty with no hope & no joy.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly uninspiring ..

Review to follow

[Yusei Ishihara · Rating 4 out of 5]

-Jacob A.Riis
-Time 11/20= 60 minutes
-7 words: Christmas eve - hard - become - dread - Santa Claus - come - Nibsy
-Discussion Question
1, What is your memory in Christmas? Do you have something happened especially?
When I was elementary school student, I broke a promise to my friends. Therefore, I was scored by my mother.
2, Do you believe that there is Santa Claus?
No, I don't. Because I had seen that my father wear a Santa Claus costume when I was elementary school student.

-time 11/27 = 80 minutes
-7 words: Santa Claus - come - on - Christmas - with - many - things
-Discussion Question
1, If you can wish for something you like, what would you like to wish?
I wish that I become a rich! Because now I don't have much money.
2, Which do you like summer or winter?
I like summer, of course. I like Christmas, but it's so cold for me. Summer is comfortable for me to live :)

[pdarnold · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a short, sad, joyless, heartbreaking book!!! There were I admit a couple spots of, what I assume the author was trying to get across, pureness of heart giving over to hopefulness... only to be crushed, destroyed and scattered to the four winds. This was written in a time period where, I guess, these types of stories were popular? Yet still, even Dickens gave hope to the reader. Still trying shake this one off.

[May Ling]

I"m not quite sure why they say this is a children's story. This is a depressing account of Christmas gone bad, when capitalism and worth get mixed with valuing others. Well, written though.

[Sandra Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Amazing that a story wrote 119 years ago can be related to our current society. It's not a children's book, more a social criticism. It is wonderfully written though.