A Family Christmas

One of the many joys of Christmas comes from the traditions associated with it--whether it's a tree-trimming party or a particular recipe for egg nog, each family's celebration is special. And now bestselling author Caroline Kennedy gives this charming collection of her Christmas favorites to families who love to celebrate the spirit of the holidays.

A Family Christmas features a letter written to President Kennedy from a little girl who was concerned about Santa Claus and a letter Caroline, herself, wrote to Santa when she was a child. The book also includes full text and excerpts from the following holiday literature:

• Little Tree by E. E. Cummings
• The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
• Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus by Francis Pharcellus Church
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
• A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
• The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry
• The Cobbler's Guest by Leo Tolstoy
• Karma by E. A. Robinson
• Christmas to Me by Harper Lee

In her introduction, Caroline Kennedy relates the importance of the holiday to her family, and shares how the literature collected here is an essential part of her own tradition. With an exquisite package — including a ribbon marker in the first edition — A Family Christmas will delight anyone lucky enough to find it under the tree.

All of Caroline Kennedy's books with Hyperion have been New York Times bestsellers.

The most recent, A Family of Poems, was a huge success, netting nearly 200,000 copies. It was a #1 New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and Book Sense bestseller, and spent multiple weekson the USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle lists as well.

A Patriot's Handbook was also a major hit, netting more than 200,000 copies. The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis has sold almost half a million copies. And Profiles in Courage for Our Time was a New York Times bestseller.

The first printing of A Family Christmas will have a ribbon marker. This beautiful package will make a perfect keepsake gift.

"When I began assembling [this] collection, I was skeptical that I would learn anything new about Christmas, but reading and reflecting on the history and spirit of Christmas brought back many memories, and taught me a great deal ... The literature of Christmas ranges from the miraculous to the tragic, the profound to the ridiculous, but always represents the connection to something larger than ourselves." Caroline Kennedy

In A Family Christmas, Caroline shares the Christmas poetry, prose, scriptural readings, and lyrics that are most dear to her, drawing on authors as diverse as Harper Lee, Nikki Giovanni, Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Collins, John and Yoko, and Charles Dickens. There are also many lesser-known gems throughout and personal treasures from her own family — including a young Caroline's Christmas list to Santa Claus and a letter from her father as President to a child concerned about Santa's well-being. This diverse and unique anthology will become a timeless keepsake, and will enrich your heart and mind with the spirit of Christmas.

A Family Christmas includes selections from:

Groucho Marx, Emma Lazarus, Mark Twain, Sandra Cisneros, Pearl S. Buck, Truman Capote, Gabriela Mistral, Ogden Nash, Clement Clarke Moore, Vladimir Nabokov, Marianne Moore, Calvin Trillin, E. B. White, and many more.

Caroline Kennedy is the editor of the New York Times bestselling A Family of Poems, Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, A Patriot's Handbook, and Profiles in Courage for Our Time, and is the coauthor of The Right to Privacy and In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action. She serves as the Vice Chair of the New York City Fund for Public Schools.

Focusing on the her own family traditions, bestselling author Caroline Kennedy presents a charming collection of favorite Christmas tales to those who love to celebrate the spirit of the holidays. (Holidays)