Christmas Is a Time of Giving... and Lots of Other Things

Joan Walsh Anglund is an artist and poet best known for her tiny gift books, which celebrate the simple joys of life. Christmas Is a Time of Giving is one of those, and it also happens to be one of my favorites of her books. Like most books of hers that I’ve read, it doesn’t have a plot, but it is instead a list of qualities that are associated with Christmas.

The book, originally published in 1961, includes a mix of black-and-white and full-color illustrations, though the color drawings limit the colors to shades of red and green, further emphasizing the Christmassy theme. With a couple of exceptions, pictures are on the right page of the book, while text is on the left. The most notable exception is the pair of facing black-and-white pages, one of which shows a group of children wrapping presents in front of an old-fashioned pot-bellied stove, the other of which shows a young girl making cookies.

While the illustrations are pretty small, they are filled with intricate detail. Anglund’s iconic rosy-cheeked children are adorable as ever, while the adults looks distinctly different, having a more realistic appearance instead of the almost blank-canvas faces of the children. I love the landscapes, which look like something out of a Currier and Ives painting. I especially like the colorless drawing of the boy with the sled under the barren branches of a windswept tree surveying the snowy expanse of a valley town.

The writing is minimalist, with no single page featuring more than a sentence. There’s a bit of a poetic quality to it, but the extensive repetition is the most notable quality of the prose this time around. Every sentence includes at least one “a time of” statement, for a total of 16, though one could say that there are quite a few more than that, since there are several “and”s scattered throughout the story. For instance, “It is a time of stars and midnight… and soft prayers whispered in the dark.”

The primary focus of the book is on all that makes Christmas cozy. While Jesus is not mentioned directly, one picture shows several children gazing upon an outdoor nativity. In general, the tone seems vaguely religious, and nothing in either the words or pictures specifically suggests Santa Claus or his reindeer. We see the children waiting, but we also watch them prepare gifts, so they could well just be waiting to give them to each other. Even the stocking hangings over the fireplace don’t necessarily reflect anticipation of Santa.

Instead, the book celebrates togetherness. Peace, love, understanding… These are the sorts of things that Anglund associates with Christmas here. All but two of the illustrations feature at least two characters (three illustrations if you don’t count the dog as a distinct character). The sense of warmth and community seeps through the pages, counteracting the slight shiver that comes with the sight of all that snow. I’m not sure if she had any particular location in mind when she put this book together, but it reminds me of New England. In any case, it looks like a place I would love to visit.

Of the four Anglund Christmas books that I have read, this simple volume is my favorite. It only takes a few minutes to read, but the warm glow cast by Christmas Is a Time of Giving might just last the whole day.