The Christmas That Almost Wasn't
I was going to devote the month of December to sharing with you, The Christmas That Almost Wasn't,
by Ogden Nash which is delightfully illustrated by his daughter Linell Nash. It is a wonderful story-poem about Nicholas Knock who must save Christmas from Good King Oldwin's evil nephew, Evilard.
However, my good friend Vijaya, over at Reading, Writing, Ruminating reminded me about a little something called copyright.Even though I cannot share the story with you as I wanted to, I can promote it. I can tell you, it is without a doubt one of the best little Christmas stories out there. It is a story that we read nearly every year and became one of our family traditions. I can tell you it is out of print and that it ought to be reprinted. I can tell you that I consider it as much a classic as A Christmas Carol. And I can tell you that Amazon has 13 used copies starting as low as $2.25 (plus S&H.)
If you want to treat yourself and your family to a truly delightful story, one that is full of humor, with rhymes that will sing in your head long after you put it down, then give the gift of The Christmas That Almost Wasn't.
A little bit about Ogden Nash. He was born in Rye, New York in 1902. He went to Harvard but dropped out after a year. He worked several jobs before he became an editor at Doubleday which is when he began writing humorous light verse.
One of his most famous is:Candy
Is dandy,
But liquor
Is quicker.
To which he added I believe around 1968.
Pot is not.
There is also this one:
The Lord in His wisdom made the fly,
And then forgot to tell us why.
Ogden Nash died of Crohn's disease (which I have) in May of 1971.
You can find some of his poems here.
I've never read it, although I've heard of it.
ReplyDeleteOh great post. I love that story. Too bad you couldn't do as you had intended but this post is great just talking about Nash. I like all those pithy saying (I don't know if you'd call them pithy). They are timeless and apply as much today as they did 60 years (or more) ago. :)
ReplyDeleteI've heard the "candy is dandy" quote but never knew who wrote it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteoh, I've heard of this book and never read it! But I know it's a good one. Thanks for the reminder! :o) <3
ReplyDeleteAs a Christmas gift, I took great delight in reading it to my students... of all ages. I think my h.s. seniors liked hearing it best as I had such fun with all the voices in the story! Such a troop of villains and heroes!
ReplyDeleteErva
I will look for this book at the library.
ReplyDeleteI prefer candy to liquor by the way. :)
I don't know this story, but I remember enjoying some of his poems in school.
ReplyDeleteI also didn't know he wrote "candy is dandy..."
Love the liquor quote. So true! I didn't know you had Crohne's Disease.
ReplyDeleteI vaguely remember reading this book sometime long ago. I missed the Ogden Nash stamp--don't keep up with stamp collecting like I did when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteLee
A to Z stories starting 12/12 and the official A to Z Badge is now revealed
Blogging from A to Z
Sounds like a great book. It reminds me of The Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of Mr. Nash and have read some of his work, but I've never read this little book. I may have to pick up a copy.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about you today. Beloved Husband and I were discussing our day excursions in St. Thomas for our cruise in Feb.
Yes, that little thing called copyright. Well, I think you got your message across anyway. That short quote gives us a great taste of his rhymes. Love how he later added, "Pot is not." I haven't read this book yet. Thanks, Bish.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading Nash ages ago, so this brought back memories. I don't think I've read The Christmas That Almost Wasn't.
ReplyDelete