Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Claus

ISBN 038530854x - A Christmas favorite, the story of THAT question, how it was asked and, more importantly, how it was answered, this is a story that should be told and retold as often as possible. There are various versions, some better than others. Christine Allison writes a foreword to what is probably the most famous letter to the editor of The New York Sun and its answer. A young girl named Virginia, encouraged by her father - because "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." - writes to ask if there really is a Santa Claus. The anonymous (at the time) response assures her that, indeed, there is a Santa Claus with absolutely certainty. The book ends with information about the main characters involved: Virginia O'Hanlon, the young letter writer; Francis Church, the reluctant editor who responded; Thomas Nast, the illustrator of the book and the man who single-handedly gave us our popular image of Santa. Allison's foreword is fairly pointless, in my opinion. Illustrations by Thomas Nast are very nice - if you've seen the originals. This book is so small and the drawings have been substantially shrunk, making it impossible to really make out the fantastic detail in them. The author of Virginia's response, Francis Pharcellus Church, could not possibly have known that 111 years later, we would still be reading his eloquent letter - or that childrens' movies (Yes Virginia There Is a Santa Claus, YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS (ANIMATED)) would be inspired by it. That alone should tell you a lot about the power of Church's answer. More than Santa, Church assures the reader that love, good, magic and all manner of unseen wonders, including god, exist and will continue to exist. The mention of god will particularly delight some; Virginia's father's faith in his newspaper of choice will amuse and sadden the cynical reader of 2008. The language Church uses might indicate that eight year olds in 1897 were way more grammatically advanced than the 2008 edition of eight year olds, which is part of why this book will appeal to adults. It's a nice thing to have on hand, to snatch that one last year of believing from the jaws of doubt. - AnnaLovesBooks

In the 1800s, a girl named Virginia wrote a letter to the "New York Sun" asking a very important question --- is there really a Santa Claus? This book is the story of that letter and the text of the complete letter and response. Cyndy Szekeres lends her amazing talent for illustrations to the story of this letter. Virginia is a cute little kitten in a world of anthropomorphized kittens. Each page contains a portion of the letter or response, along with illustrations that tell a story all their own --- the story of Virginia's Christmas. Thus, this book works on two levels.

I have read this book as a child and as an adult read it to my children. This is truly a piece to read at Christmas time every year.