What would Christmas be without such charming and heartwarming poems as "A Visit from St. Nicholas"? That famous poem, also known as "The Night Before Christmas," is only one of the many sparkling highlights of this festive collection, a rich and varied compilation of yuletide verse that will enchant readers of all ages.

These poems range from serious seasonal reflections by Martin Luther ("From Heaven Above to Earth I Come") and John Milton ("On the Morning of Christ's Nativity") to flights of fancy such as Lewis Carroll's "Christmas Greeting from a Fairy to a Child" and Kenneth Grahame's "Carol of the Field Mice" from The Wind in the Willows. Other contributors include Christina Rossetti, Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, Thomas Hardy, John Donne, Ben Jonson, and Sir Walter Scott. Twenty-five timeless black-and-white etchings, engravings, and drawings enhance this treasury of verse.