Santa, Angels, Presents.... Trivia Quiz

Answer: They give away their breakfasts to a poor family

It worked out well for them in the end, as their neighbour Mr Laurence heard about the generous gesture, and sent over cake, ice cream, and flowers.

"Hannah told one of his servants about your breakfast party. He is an odd old gentleman, but that pleased him. He knew my father years ago, and he sent me a polite note this afternoon, saying he hoped I would allow him to express his friendly feeling toward my children by sending them a few trifles in honor of the day. I could not refuse, and so you have a little feast at night to make up for the bread-and-milk breakfast."

"Little Women" was first published in 1868, and was an immediate success, somewhat to the surprise of its author.

Answer: Jan Brett

Teeka learns to work with the reindeer rather than against them, and all is well by Christmas Eve.

This is a beautiful book. The illustrations use traditional Laplander motifs, the reindeer actually look quite a lot like reindeer, and there is a charming auxiliary story being told in the margins - something of a trademark for Brett. My own children loved Jan Brett's books twenty years ago, and her name is still close to the head of any list of top children's authors.

"The Wild Christmas Reindeer" was first published in 1990.

Answer: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The gifts from Father Christmas (Santa Claus) are very helpful to the children in their future adventures: Peter gets a sword and a shield with a lion emblazoned; Susan gets a bow and arrow and a horn to blow for help when in danger; and Lucy gets a dagger and a bottle of healing cordial. Their brother Edmond at this point is with the witch and still to some extent in her thrall, so he never does get any gifts.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is the first-published book in CS Lewis' renowned "Narnia" series, and first came out in 1950.

Answer: tiny

"...a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer" and, later "the prancing and pawing of each little hoof." Obviously, they're not very big.

"A Visit from St Nicholas" was written by ...well, that's a little unclear. The poem was first published in 1823, anonymously. Clement Clarke Moore acknowledged that he had written it in 1844, though it had been rumoured it was by him for several years previous. However, it's also claimed that the poem was written by a Major Henry Livingston, Jr. At any rate, it's been a beloved part of Christmas for a long time, no matter who wrote it.

Answer: L. Frank Baum

This is a great "origin story", written in the signature Baum style. It provides explanations for many aspects of Santa - why reindeer? why chimneys? why stockings?

Santa also appears in a few Oz stories, such as "Queer Visitors From The Marvelous Land of Oz" and "The Road to Oz". "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" has been adapted and filmed several times, probably the most notable being a 1985 stop-motion animation TV special.

"The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" was first published in 1902.

Answer: The Polar Express

"The Polar Express" won the Caldecott Medal in 1986, and Robert Zemeckis made a reasonably well-received movie from it in 2004.

Chris Van Allsburg's 1981 "Jumanji" (also a Caldecott winner) was also made into a successful film, starring Robin Williams, in 1995.

"The Polar Express" was first published in 1985.

Answer: Little House in the Big Woods

Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books tell the fictionalized story of her childhood, from the very young years in the Big Woods in Wisconsin, until her young adulthood and marriage.

The Christmas segment in "Little House in the Big Woods" tells of preparations made for guests, playing outside in the snow with the cousins, special meals - and a scary story of an encounter with a panther that Aunt Eliza only survived because of her smart brave dog Prince.

"Little House in the Big Woods" was first published in 1932.

Answer: Beatrix Potter

The tailor - who always leaves the tiny scraps of cloth to make clothes for mice - is ill, and the new coat for the mayor of Gloucester must be finished by noon of Christmas Day! The mice who had been freed by the tailor from the clutches of cat Simpkin sewed it up for him, with the tiniest stitches imaginable. All except one buttonhole, which they had to leave because there was "no more twist!"

"The Tailor of Gloucester" was first published in 1903.

Answer: The Wind in the Willows

Mole and Ratty had been heading back to River Bank when Mole suddenly smelt his old home, and was overcome with longing to see it again. With a little dusting and a little foraging they soon had it cheerful after its owner's long absence and were happily sitting down to a makeshift meal when they heard the mice in the forecourt. After a song, the mice came in for a warm drink, and a share of the basket of goodies Rat sent one of the mice back to the village for.

Warmth and kindly hospitality just flow from this chapter - it practically had me in nostalgic tears when reading it again.

"The Wind in the Willows" was written by Kenneth Grahame, and first published in 1908.

Answer: Dressed up his dog as a reindeer

"So he called his dog, Max. Then he took some red thread
And he tied a big horn on the top of his head."

Of course, by the end of the book, The Grinch's heart has grown two sizes, and he has come to love Christmas as much as the Whos.

"How The Grinch Stole Christmas" has been adapted a few times. One very successful adaptation, in 1966, for TV, was directed by the wonderful Chuck Jones of "Bugs Bunny" fame and perfectly narrated by Boris Karloff. It was also filmed in 2000, starring Jim Carrey, less successfully.

"How The Grinch Stole Christmas" was written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1957, both as a book and in "Redbook" magazine.