In the 1840s, Charles Dickens wrote 5 short stories with strong social and moral messages. The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home, is the third of these stories. Following the home life of John Peerybingle, the story introduces the many people in John's family and life along with a cricket that acts as the guardian angel of the family. Like its predecessors, this story also contains heavy social and moral implications. However, it differs...

In this classic story, Ebenezer Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas after being visited by three ghosts.

Fifteen tales on love and family at Christmas. In A Typical Irish Christmas, two fathers commiserate on their ungrateful children, while in The First Step of Christmas a disunited family makes up.

"A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future"--NoveList.

"When A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843 it was an overnight success, and set a precedent that was to be followed by other Christmas books, including The Chimes (1844) and The Cricket (1845). Each book was published at the same time of year, in the same format, and extolled similar values about the virtues of love, charity and the family unit. But none would achieve the cult status of A Christmas Carol, a book so popular it has become part...

Gathers ten Christmans stories featuring Santa Claus, animals, wintry weather, holiday decorations, and related topics.