Vicky Austin is excited for Christmas, especially since she is playing the angel in the nativity play, but worries that her new baby brother or sister will come early and cause her mother to spend Christmas in the hospital mar her joy over the season.

This is a brief, simple story that will be best appreciated by fans of books about the Austins. I've always been fonder of Kairos (the Murry family) than Chronos (the Austin family), but any L'Engle is good. The holiday details in this story exude coziness, making it a pleasant diversion for a winter afternoon. ( )

This sweet short story (only 48 pages) with beautiful spot illustrations may hold more appeal for the adults who grew up with Vicky Austin and her family than for most of today's kids, but it will find an audience with middle graders looking for a nostalgic glimpse into one family's Christmas traditions. ( )

This is a quiet and sweet look at a young family preparing for Christmas. Vicky tells about their advent and the activities they do and how she learns to be the Christmas angel for their Christmas Eve pageant. This story focuses on the purpose of Christmas without ever "saying it out loud" which makes it an especially lovely Christmas book ( )

I hadn't bothered to find Madeleine L'Engle's books for young children before, but now that I'm making a real effort to read the series in chronological order I decided to give them a go. Withe such an obviously Christmas title, I decided to wait for Christmas Eve to read this one and I'm glad I did.

It's wonderful to spend Christmas chasing the ghost of Christmas past, but at the same time it means that all of the traditional elements that make up Christmas are missing. The twenty-four days before Christmas doesn't have a lot too it but it's full of comforting family tradition (not to mention beautiful illustrations) and has provided me, not only with an insight into early Austin family life, but with a lovely link to Christmas.

And this year, Madeleine L'Engle isn't here to celebrate... ( )

In the twenty-four days before Christmas the Austin family follows Advent traditions and prepares for a new baby in their own family.