SilentPhotoplay Blog
This short story, prompted by St. Nicholas Magazine and published in the December 1927 issue, is about Christmas at boarding school. It was written by Sallie Freeman, age 17. Christmas Adventure By Sallie Freeman (Age 17) (Silver Badge) Bee stirred restlessly in her bed. Why did her family choose Christmas to have the measles? How … Continue reading A Christmas Adventure – Sallie Freeman
I had another post planned for today, but that one will be pushed back, as I just discovered this gem. This very well may be the very best story I have ever read in one of my storybooks. I think I’ll always remember this Christmas story, and will share it every Christmas from now on. … Continue reading A Tale of a Tail
This is a really charming story about a little homeless kitty on Christmas Eve. It is by Constance Rose Pultz. Born on December 4, 1913 in Yonkers, New York, Constance was an only child. She was a prolific author, writing much poetry and many stories and winning awards in writing competitions throughout her life. She … Continue reading Pussy’s Christmas Eve
This is a kind of amusing relation of a first reindeer ride in Finland. This was published in St. Nicholas, December 1927. I like the sort of “Go on a reindeer ride,” they said. “It’ll be fun,” they said.” type of tone that the author has toward his friends. This is an interesting read. A … Continue reading A Reindeer Ride In Finland
This is another story from Aunt Kitty’s Storybook. I based it on my niece, and all the fairies are based on fairies from Cicely Mary Barker’s flower fairies. The Party Kaya liked to pretend she was a fairy. After all, she had a fairy forest in her own backyard! It had white lights on the … Continue reading The Party
This little snippet is from Harvest Home, 1891. I kind of feel like I know these people who wrote this book, like I am one of the children they wrote it for! It gives me immense joy to read these interesting books. ORIGIN OF “YULE.” The ancient name (Yule) for Christmas is still used throughout … Continue reading Origin of “Yule.”
The following story is from one of the first antique books I ever owned. It is from the 1880s, and it is called Merry Doings of Childhood. It has fantastic stories, and has some of the most beautiful pictures that are still vibrant and dark. Some stories are not so sunny. They are there to … Continue reading Christmas
Often, these little story books were not just storybooks, but they taught the child something, too. This would include things I can only describe as ‘articles’, where they talked directly to the reader and taught about other countries, their customs, or just simply talk about a picture on the page. In these ‘articles’, they would … Continue reading Christmas Berries and Flowers
This sweet story is from Our Darlings, a British publication that I acquired in York, England. THE ROBIN’S CHRISTMAS. The Robin was fast asleep in his nest when the bells began to ring. He really could not help waking up, they made such a Ding dong, ding, ding, ding, ding, dong, dong, dong, dong. … Continue reading The Robin’s Christmas
A long time back we talked of Our Darlings, a book I got while I was in England in 2010. It’s hard to tell when it was published, because sometimes they didn’t put years on the copyright page. This is especially true with British publications. I think this is from the 20s. THE FATHER CHRISTMAS. … Continue reading The Father Christmas