Reviews for A Child's Christmas in Wales: And Five Poems

The average rating for A Child's Christmas in Wales: And Five Poems based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-05-22 00:00:00 Ryan Metcalf My artistic, flighty mother, who's in her 70's, flits in and out of my life, leaving quirky gifts behind. Sometimes they go straight to Goodwill (used clothing, cheap knickknacks); sometimes they're useful (a type of mop she particularly loves); sometimes they're delightful (my grandmother's sterling silver set, books that have moved her, beautiful impressionistic landscapes that she paints in oils or watercolor). This illustrated book version of Dylan Thomas's reminiscing about his boyhood Christmases was one of my mother's more recent gifts; she dropped it on me one day when she was visiting, with very little explanation. But it's nostalgic and old-timey and European-flavored, which are sure-fire appeals to her sensibilities (and often mine). It also has Thomas's lovely, poetic writing:Years and years and years ago, when I was a boy, when there were wolves in Wales, and birds the colour of red-flannel petticoats whisked past the harp-shaped hills, when we sang and wallowed all night and day in caves that smelt like Sunday afternoons in damp front farmhouse parlours . . .Dylan Thomas was a Welsh poet who lived a short, intense life (he died of his excesses when he was only 39). He disliked being regarded as a "Welsh" writer and had no use for Welsh nationalism. And yet he came up with this beautiful, lyrical tribute to his childhood Christmases in the coastal town of Swansea, Wales, in the early 1900's, "before the motor-car, before the wheel, before the duchess-faced horse, when we rode the daft and happy hills bareback, it snowed and snowed." There's no real structure to this short book; it's more a grab bag of random childhood Christmastime stories, filled with boys' mischief, Useful Presents ("mittens made for giant sloths; ... pictureless books in which small boys, though warned with quotations not to, would skate on Farmer Giles's pond and did and drowned; and books that told me everything about the wasp, except why") and Useless Presents (the best! "a painting book in which I could make the grass, the trees, the sea and the animals any color I please, and still the dazzling sky-blue sheep are grazing in the red field under the rainbow-billed and pea-green birds. Hardboileds, toffee, fudge and allsorts, crunches, cracknel, humbugs, glaciers, marzipan, and butterwelsh" ... I wish I knew what half of those things are), and relatives who indulge in a little too much parsnip wine. Short, affectionate and poetic, this is a sweet tribute to bygone days and those Christmas memories that linger through the years. Bumping up to 5 stars on reread. Free online here at Gutenberg Australia: Or if you'd like to listen to Dylan Thomas reading his own story, here's a recording:

Review # 2 was written on 2020-01-14 00:00:00 Kelly Kaiser I completely forgot to review this little book, my husband has read it out loud for the whole family during Christmas Eve, The poor one has been interrupted hundreds of times because the English used by Thomas was not very easy to understand for us, many words now in disuse., so he had to translate so much that (was better to read it in italian one first!!😖) The story is very tender and particular, an insight of Thomas' childhood that recalls the most significant images of his past Christmases . My youngest children were impressed by Edward’s bold illustrations, short reading before Christmas Mass. Mi sono completamente dimenticata di recensire questo piccolo libricino, mio marito lo ha letto ad alta voce per tutta la famiglia durante la Vigilia di Natale, il poverino è stato interrotto centinaia di volte perchè l'inglese utilizzato da Thomas non è di facilissima comprensione, molte parole ormai in disuso. La storia è tenerissima e particolare, uno spaccato dell' infanzia di Thomas che ricorda le immagini piu' significative dei Natali del suo passato. I mie figli piu' piccoli sono rimasti colpiti dalle illustrazioni di Edward Ardizzone, mini lettura prima della Messa di Natale.