Dennis Pepper, editor of the Young Oxford Book of Christmas Stories (Oxford University Press pound;7.99, illustrated by Martin Cottam, Brian Pedley, Ian Miller and Tim Stevens), promises that his collection is different, and it will certainly engage readers of 11-plus.
In one tale, unwanted Christmas presents are passed round and round; in another the mixed feelings of a small girl whose new baby brother is born just before Christmas are beautifully observed.
There are several ghostly encounters, among them a poignant story of a grandfather who picks up a stranger one freezing winter’s night and suddenly realises his grandson’s tragic fate.
I particularly liked Francis Beckett’s wry update on A Christmas Carol, in which the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come lose the power to make their victims remorseful because, as they say, the 21st century has made greed and selfishness into virtues.
Fiona Lafferty is librarian at St Swithun’s junior school, Winchester
