Just in case our unlikely courier of charm might, to some, fixedly and unwelcomely portend a variation of The Nightmare before Christmas, we also have in our sack the sure-fire James Herriot and his just-right reminiscence about The Christmas Day Kitten. You might think that having the likes of Dylan Thomas (he of, “Do not go gentle into that good night”) drop by at Christmas would be tantamount to exclusively broaching Scrooge’s Christmas Eves prior to that special one. But the point of two great writers at this season can’t be denied. Highly recommended, to all James Herriot fans, and to anyone looking for poignant animal stories for children that address both the joy and sorrow they bring to the people in their lives.Our return to an old Christmas blog, from 2013, must (due to corporate regulations)stand without the YouTube referred to.

My favorite scene might have been the one in which Debbie disappears across a green Yorkshire field, but they are all beautiful. The artwork by Ruth Brown, a celebrated British picture-book illustrator whose other titles include A Dark, Dark Tale and Gracie the Lighthouse Cat, is absolutely beautiful, capturing the feline charm of Debbie and Buster and the droopy appeal of the basset hounds.

I had tears in my eyes, as I reread Debbie and Buster's tale, even though I knew what was coming when I started it. Herriot was undoubtedly an excellent veterinarian, but he was also a talented writer. I've read all five of his memoirs, and a number of his children's stories, and I never fail to be moved by their wonderful sense of humanity, and love for 'all creatures great and small,' or to be entertained and engrossed by the marvelous voice of the narrator. One of a number of picture-books from Herriot, The Christmas Day Kitten has always been one of my favorites. Pickering's life - the best Christmas present she ever had. Debbie's death was terribly sad, but it brought Buster the retriever-cat into Mrs. Then one snowy Christmas day, in terrible shape, she came back to die, bringing her kitten with her. This feline visitor would come into her home, stand briefly before the fire, and then depart again. Show More had three basset hounds, and who regularly fed a shy stray cat named Debbie.

James herriot the christmas day kitten