The Gift of the Magi

A classic piece of American literature given new poignancy by beautiful watercolors by award-winning artist Lisbeth Zwerger.

One dollar and eighty-seven cents is all the money Della has in the world to buy her beloved husband a Christmas present. But all she has left to sell is her one greatest treasure—her long, beautiful brown hair. A simple tale about the rewards of unselfish love.

William Sydney Porter—later to be known as O. Henry—was born in North Carolina in 1862. Known for his surprise endings and ability to capture the hope and pathos of ordinary people, Henry is best remembered for his stories about New York City. The Gift of the Magi was written in 1906, four years before his death.

Lisbeth Zwerger has been accorded nearly every prize that can be given, including the highest international award for lifetime achievement, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. Since 1981 she has devoted her extraordinary talents to children’s literature, to stories as charming and picturesque as her native Vienna. Always surprising, always engaging, her artwork combines technical mastery with an insight and gentleness so rare and captivating that she has been correctly called one of the finest illustrators of the twentieth century.

ISBN: 9781416935865
Format: Hardback
Pages: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: October 03, 2006

"[B]eautifully wrought illustrations, delicate, uncluttered, and splendidly composed."

-- New York Times Book Review"...as sentimental as Christmas."

-- Publishers Weekly"Lisbeth Zwerger's biting line and soft, evocative palette illuminate the characters with an aura of gaslit nobility, and burnish an antique until it shines."

-- Time