Reviews

Miracle on 34th Street: A Storybook Edition of the Christmas Classic by Valentine Davies

hurtvonnegut's review against another edition

4.0

A shorter version of the 1947 classic but still held as much charm.

bookishbb's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

vickennugget's review against another edition

4.0

I absolutely adore this story, always have. After visiting Macy’s in NY this past weekend, I needed to read this book. It was created after the movie came out, so it still encapsulates a great majority of the plot, however, it’s missing just a little bit of the Christmas wonder and spirit that the movie has to offer. If you’re looking for a Christmas classic, I recommend!

bmpicc's review against another edition

4.0

Very sweet story. Perfect for the holiday season.

annie77's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

kice7788's review against another edition

5.0

This is one of my favorite Christmas stories!! The artwork was amazing and the story of course was as well! I’ve watched the movie every hear but never knew it was a storybook… now reading this will be a tradition!

emtuft's review against another edition

4.0

4.25 - I enjoyed the story! As it was written by the same writer of the movie and in the same year (book was released while movie was in theaters), it is verrrry similar to the movie. That being said, there are some differences, so even if you’ve seen the movie, it is worth the read!

I had the illustrated by Tomie DePaola version and I enjoyed the illustrations along with the story.

rdyourbookcase's review against another edition

4.0

This was a good portrayal of the movie! I enjoyed reading it and thought that the illustrations added to the story.

heatheradoresbooks's review

3.0

3⭐
Genre ~ children's fiction for ages 4-9
Setting ~ NYC
Publication date ~ October 2, 2018
Est page Count ~ 32
Audio length ~ 16 minutes
Narrator ~ George Newbern

Gave Libby a peruse at 4:16 am for some Christmas audios in hopes of lulling me back to sleep. I figured I could spare 16 minutes while I stare in the dark tossing and turning with nothing better to do since I've never read it, or watched the movie for that matter, and 'tis the season.

Susan doesn't believe in Santa. She meets Kris Kringle who is adamant that he is indeed really Santa Clause. Will she and others in the city believe him?

So this was alright. Maybe I would have liked it better had I read the classic from 1945, or even watched the movie from 1947. I'm guessing this was true to the original just cut down into a children's version. Did they really take Santa to court to prove he was real? Have I missed out and really do need to watch the movie? Let me know if I need to fit it among The Polar Express, Elf and A Christmas Story this season.

Narration notes:
I've listened to George many times in adult fiction and he always does a great job. This one has side effects that give the story a little extra pizzazz, which would surely be a fun listen for the kiddos, whether they believe or not.

Here's a fun fact I found on Wikipedia:
The inspiration for the story, about a disillusioned woman, her skeptical daughter and a mysterious man who believes he is the real Santa Claus, came when Valentine Davies was standing in line at a big department store during the Christmas season.

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neilrcoulter's review against another edition

3.0

On a library visit just before Christmas, I checked out several books from the Christmas display. On Christmas Eve I decided to read Miracle on 34th Street to the kids, and we finished it on Christmas day. Previously I didn't even know there was a book of this story; I'd thought it was just a movie. I picked up the book because it's illustrated by Tomie DePaola. I remembered seeing illustrations by him for Oz, and I like good illustrations for children's books.

The short novel is written by Valentine Davies, who also wrote the screenplay for the movie. Davies published the novel the same year that the movie was released (1947). My kids are not familiar with the movie--and even I have only seen it once (and I can't even recall if it was the original black and white film or the 1994 color remake, which shows what small effect it had on me)--so the story in novel form was new and fresh. Now we're looking forward to finding a copy of the original film and watching it.

The story is pretty good, though not one of my favorite Christmas stories (probably largely because I lack the nostalgic feeling for it, since it wasn't a part of my growing-up years). DePaola's illustrations are good, though not especially memorable. My kids most enjoyed his pictures of the nasty psychiatrist Mr. Sawyer.

Update: Last night we watched the original 1947 film, and loved it (reviewed here: http://letterboxd.com/ethnosax/film/miracle-on-34th-street/). The book and the film each contain some scenes that aren't found in the other, which makes it a good pairing to read and watch both. I now believe that the film I saw years ago was the 1994 remake, which is terrible (after watching the original movie, we put in the disc with the newer version and watched a few selected scenes; it was painful). The original is wonderful.