It is Christmas Eve and Della Dillingham Young only has $1.87 to buy her husband a present, so she sells something very special; but what gift is her husband planning for her? O. Henry (1862-1910) was born William Sydney Porter in North Carolina, USA. The Gift of the Magi is one of his most famous stories. His stories are part of a rich tradition of American short story writing.
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From Publishers Weekly
O. Henry's classic tale of Della and Jim, the struggling newlyweds so anxious to give each other a Christmas gift that each sells the one thing the other holds most dear, receives an oddly lifeless treatment here. Heyer's meticulously detailed illustrations are pretty but stilted; the characters look like mannequins. The rueful Jim fares better than poor prematurely middle-aged Della, who at times looks more like his mother than his wife. Still, the story is as touching as ever, and neither time nor mediocre artwork can dim its glory. All ages.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 5 and up. A classic story becomes a picture book for older readers in this oversize edition. Heyer's paintings reflect the turn-of-the-century setting and are nicely executed, if occasionally stiff. Because the protagonists are both adults, there will not be automatic appeal for younger children, but preteens, and especially teenagers, should find the romantic appeal that has been apparent to previous generations of readers. Ilene Cooper
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There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. Read the first page
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By Ikumi
Format:Hardcover
The Gift of Magi is an O. Henry�fs classic Christmas story that is about a couple, Jim and Della, who loved each other. They were very poor people, but they wanted to buy a Christmas gift for each other. They did not have enough money, so they decided to sell their important things to buy a gift. Della wanted to buy a gold chain for Jim�fs gold watch, but she didn�ft have enough money. Instead, she cut her hair that was her pride, and sold it. And Jim, whose watch was great and really expensive, sold it to buy the combs that Della had wanted for a long time. So as a result, their Christmas day was not happy at all. This story�fs ending is not happy, but I like this story�fs classic theme and plot. I think that this book has good theme and plot though they are simple. This is interesting and a well organized story. We can learn cultures of American from reading O. Henry�fs short stories about Americanes.
Format:Audio Cassette
The Gift Of The Magi is a magnificent "radio theater" production of O. Henry's classic story of young love at Christmas time. A young couple just beginning their wedded life and of very limited means want more than anything to give each other a gift that will reflect and celebrate their devotion, one to the other. The gifts they select, and at the cost to each of them, all result in one of the most endearing, heartwarming, and humorous of conclusions. This highly recommended, multicast production is a flawlessly performed and recorded, totally engaging, wonderfully entertaining dramat-ization.
By Linda Bulger
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
O. Henry is the pen name used by the American writer William Sydney Porter. His short stories were enormously popular in the first decade of the 20th century, when he wrote prolifically for journals and collections. Being firmly rooted in their time, they have become dated; and his trademark surprise endings seem somehow unsophisticated. But in many ways people haven't changed so much in 100 years and some of O. Henry's stories still delight with their keen observations of human behavior. His two stories most widely read today are "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Ransom of Red Chief."
"The Gift of the Magi" is a little story that's worn fairly well in the lesson, if not in the language. Jim and Della Young lived on a shoestring in their New York apartment, very much in love but with no cash to spare for Christmas gifts. They had only two things of value: Della's luxuriant knee-length hair and Jim's family-heirloom pocket watch. Della (from whose POV the story is told) sold her hair to buy Jim a fob chain for his treasured watch. When he arrived at the apartment he "stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face" and then gave her the present he'd bought -- jeweled combs for her hair, now gone. When she pressed the fob chain on him eagerly, he revealed that he had sold his watch to buy her combs.
It's a simple story, but pleasing in its circularity. O. Henry calls Della and Jim "two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest." A nice little lesson -- to be willing to sacrifice your greatest treasure for the joy of giving to the one you love. How many of us are so generous, or love so much?
"The Gift of the Magi" is a little story that's worn fairly well in the lesson, if not in the language. Jim and Della Young lived on a shoestring in their New York apartment, very much in love but with no cash to spare for Christmas gifts. They had only two things of value: Della's luxuriant knee-length hair and Jim's family-heirloom pocket watch. Della (from whose POV the story is told) sold her hair to buy Jim a fob chain for his treasured watch. When he arrived at the apartment he "stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face" and then gave her the present he'd bought -- jeweled combs for her hair, now gone. When she pressed the fob chain on him eagerly, he revealed that he had sold his watch to buy her combs.
It's a simple story, but pleasing in its circularity. O. Henry calls Della and Jim "two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest." A nice little lesson -- to be willing to sacrifice your greatest treasure for the joy of giving to the one you love. How many of us are so generous, or love so much?
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