Assorted Christmas crackers

There’s a moment in a child’s life where Christmas begins to lose its magic. Once lost it cannot be regained, but as adults we can catch glimpses of that wonder through our own children, through booze, and most of all through songs, films and stories. Christmas is the one time of the year when it’s not only acceptable to cry over such sentimental things, it’s almost compulsory.

The wonder ceases at around eight or nine years old. Andrew Szlachetko (who publishes this book, £5.99) addresses this in The Age of Not Believing. The hero, Thomas, on his way to Santa’s grotto, is mocked by some other boys for his belief in Father Christmas. Later, full of rage and shame, he hits one of them because ‘the magic has simply disappeared’. But that night he is transported to Semdar (an anagram of ‘dreams’), a Narnia-esque world where he must save Christmas from a malevolent witch called Torga. It’s a sweet, affecting read with some vivid illustrations by Patricia Moffett.

On a similar theme is The Fox at the Manger by P.L. Travers of Mary Poppins fame. It features three rather supercilious children who see Christmas in purely material terms. They mock the service at St Paul’s Cathedral until they hear the story of the fox at the manger, and their innocence is restored. It manages to remind us of the importance of the spiritual side of Christmas without being too didactic. Originally published in 1962, it has now been reissued in a handsome hardback by Virago (£9.99).

Another nicely packaged new edition is of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Misha Hoekstra, with beautiful illustrations by Lucie Arnoux (Pushkin Children’s Press, £6.99). On the front is a sticker reminding readers that the story is the inspiration for the Disney film Frozen.