Rating: 
Summary: Return to Sender
Review: J.R.R. Tolkien wrote his children a beautifully illustrated letter from Father Christmas each year. They are wonderful and witty adventures, with the holiday ever-threatened by the antics and errors of the bumbling North Polar Bear. Somehow F.C. and the elves always managed to stay up all night and make enough toys to save the day. The original edition of these letters, "The Father Christmas Letters," has been hard to find for some years. This newer edition was promising- each letter was enclosed in an envelope (much like the "Griffin and Sabine" books)- a nice touch, and expensive for the publisher to produce. Unfortunately, they did not go to the additional expense of actually including the full letters if they were longer than one page, as many are. Each year gets a single page, regardless of the actual length of the original letter. So many of the stories and adventures are cut off with no resolution. This edition is poorly slapped-together and unworthy of the artistry of the originals. Whomever is responsible should be ashamed.
Rating: 
Summary: Make Reading This to Your Kids a Christmas Tradition
Review: Letters from Father Christmas, complete with interjections by an elf and the clumsy but valiant Great Polar Bear, is simply the best Christmas book I've read in several Christmas seasons.The best parts of the letters are the Great Polar Bear's escapades. The clumsy oaf is simply a thorn in Father Christmas' side, but always helpful. And valiant! See how the Great Polar Bear, stomped and crushed those nasty Goblins who steal all the toys for the shipment to Britain. This book made me wish that I could write Christmas replies to my kids like Tolkein. What love to take the time to leave such a wonderful legacy to his children, and subsequently, to us! I can't see any reader being disappointed with this book. It is simply charming and will really please the big kid in your house (you) and the little ones too.
Rating:
Summary: This is based on the original edition.
Review: Most children write letters TO Santa; few get letters FROM Santa (or Father Christmas, as British children call him.) The Tolkein children were lucky; their father was one of the top writers of the 20th C. and a fine--if totally untrained--artist.
These letters are little gems. As the years go on and the Tolkein children got older and more able to follow a complicated story, the letters get more 'literary.' Also, if you will look at the dates, as the situation in Europe heated up, so did Father Christmas' troubles with the Goblins. Children listen to the radio, too, and none of the Tolkein children could have been accused of stupidity; they knew, at some level, that something Very Bad was brewing, and I am sure that seeing that Father Christmas could deal with almost any crisis was comforting to them.
As for the illustrations, JRRT had a wonderful sense of color and line. He was very good at drawing stylized landscapes and interiors. Who wouldn't want someplace like Cliff House? He was less successful at drawing people and animals, probably because he knew very little about anatomy. Still, the portrait of Father Christmas wrapping a package is very fine; his features look somewhat Asiatic. I don't know if it is because JRRT had trouble drawing European round eyes, or if the Tolkein children were old enough to have seen pictures of Lapps and Eskimos and would have felt that such features would be appropriate to a man who lived at the North Pole. Also, the picture of the Polar Bear battling the Goblins to save the Good Children's presents was full of movement and spirit enough that one didn't mind the questionable anatomy; the same could be said of the illustration of the accidental flooding of the English Deliveries room.
If you have children in your life, get a copy. Younger children will love to have these read to them, while older ones will love reading them themselves.
Rating:
Summary: A charming little book.
Review: My college library had a copy of this, the older printing, and I'd spent years regretting not having stolen it, even if it did have a "property of" stamp on every page. Looked for a copy for years, so glad it's finally being re-released.
Essentially it's a reproduction of letters written by Tolkien to his children, in the voice of Father Christmas. The first few are extremely charming, while the later ones trail off.
A good christmas present for a tolkienophile but perhaps not for most modern children; the later letters especially get rather long winded and erratic, if not simply hard to read.
Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: My college library had a copy of this, the older printing, and I'd spent years regretting not having stolen it, even if it did have a "property of" stamp on every page. Looked for a copy for years, so glad it's finally being re-released.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended for all Tolkien fans!
Review: New editions of J.R.R. Tolkien classics return these fine presentations to new generations of readers. Tolkien's Letters From Father Christmas arrived too late for holiday recommendation but this deserves a place on bookshelves as a fine set of letters from 'Father Christmas' telling of life at the North Pole. This revised edition provides new material, including letters and pictures not seen in previous editions. Beautifully done.
Rating: 
Summary: Letters from Father Christmas, Revised Edition
Review: Please note that this is the regular-sized edition; a previous reviewer thought that the hardback was 3" by 3", when, in fact, this volume is app. 1" by 12" by 9". Those who enjoyed the 1995 edition in the letter format will also appreciate this new edition.
Rating:
Summary: A "must" for all Tolkien fans!
Review: The beloved J. R. R. Tolkien, author of "Lord of the Rings", wrote and illustrated them a variety of letters to friends and relatives in honor of Christmas season which is now Christmas past. His ornate and fanciful handwritings are works of art in themselves and add to the whimsy of his handcrafted tales and fables. At this point there are four or five editions of the Father Christmas letters in print. From the miniature which weighs three ounces to this one which is a full by nine inches by twelve inches. This Houghton Mifflin revised 1999 edition is a tall book filled with full-page glossy reproductions with previously unpublished material. One young woman who was about to have her first child last year asked me about J.R.R. Tolkien's relationship with his family, in a way this is one the best ways to find out as you see the love and care that he put in to the production of these items, which he wrote only to amuse his family and not for publication. Humphery Carpenter in his 1977 authorized biography of J, R.R. In a way Tolkien's early work sort makes me think of Beatrix Potter though it looks nothing like her work, but then again they were both world builders of sorts Tolkien includes a wonder description of Tolkien not having enough money to take his children on a train ride instead taking the down to the train station to wistfully watch the trains come and go. Though I am not the worlds greatest collector I have to say it is wonderful feeling to have all of the editions to sort of play with. Lucky 157 Pages, Color Drawings
Rating:
Summary: A "must" for all Tolkien fans!
Review: The beloved J. R. R. Tolkien, author of "Lord of the Rings", wrote and illustrated them a variety of letters to friends and relatives in honor of Christmas season which is now Christmas past. His ornate and fanciful handwritings are works of art in themselves and add to the whimsy of his handcrafted tales and fables. At this point there are four or five editions of the Father Christmas letters in print. From the miniature which weighs three ounces to this one which is a full by nine inches by twelve inches. This Houghton Mifflin revised 1999 edition is a tall book filled with full-page glossy reproductions with previously unpublished material. One young woman who was about to have her first child last year asked me about J.R.R. Tolkien's relationship with his family, in a way this is one the best ways to find out as you see the love and care that he put in to the production of these items, which he wrote only to amuse his family and not for publication. Humphery Carpenter in his 1977 authorized biography of J, R.R. In a way Tolkien's early work sort makes me think of Beatrix Potter though it looks nothing like her work, but then again they were both world builders of sorts Tolkien includes a wonder description of Tolkien not having enough money to take his children on a train ride instead taking the down to the train station to wistfully watch the trains come and go. Though I am not the worlds greatest collector I have to say it is wonderful feeling to have all of the editions to sort of play with. Lucky 157 Pages, Color Drawings
Rating:
Summary: Just Imagine a REPLY to the Letter You Send Santa!!
Review: This is a really lovely little book with Professor Tolkien's characteristically magical water color and ink illustrations and his sweet-natured, witty commentaries about life at the North Pole. Meet Father Christmas on his home turf and get to know his friend Great Polar Bear. Through a series of letters that Father Christmas sent to the Tolkien children we are treated to an insider's look at all the magical preparations for Christmas as well as a glimpse of what life is like for Father Christmas during the rest of the year. This book is a fun, hands on treat for the imagination with its realistic envelopes and letters that you can actually remove and read for yourself. These enchanting letters were, of course, delivered by Elf Messenger and if you are lucky perhaps you will have a copy of this book delivered to you or someone you love.
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