German artist Sonja Danowski gives a faded, almost grubby-looking elegance to her artwork for O. Henry's 1906 tale of Yuletide sacrifice….Her sepia-toned illustrations set in the late 19th century suit the story exactly, evoking the poverty of the devoted young wife and …. In concert with the pictures, the arch tone and surprise ending of O. Henry's original story make for excellent delivery aloud to children age 8 and older.”—Wall Street Journal

"One of my favorite stories about love, sacrifice, and generosity is O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi. Beautifully illustrated by Sonja Danowski, this traditional story of giving a gift to your most precious loved one... [is] filled with important messages for any time of year." —Jenny Williams, geekdad.com

O. Henry's traditional Christmas story has been newly illustrated in an oversized picture book format. Danowski's sepia illustrations have the look of hand-tinted early twentieth-century photographs, a beautiful complement to the literary text. The details, such as photographs hanging on the wall, simple Christmas decorations, tenement buildings outside the window, and the horse-and-buggy in the street draw the reader into the time period. The color red is used sparingly, predominantly on Dell's blouse and in the store window. It provides depth and definition to the pictures. The endpapers look like a flower and vine wallpaper. This delicate red flower with green vines accompanies each page of text. Danowski is particularly good at creating emotive faces that clearly show the main characters' feelings. If you are looking for a gift book, or to replace an old version of this story in the library collection, this is an excellent choice. Reviewer: Sharon Salluzzo

2013-10-02
The sentimental short story is presented in an elegant edition with moody illustrations reminiscent of antique sepia photographs. The story, first published as a book in 1906, is rather flowery and wordy, with old-fashioned constructions such as "the silent imputation of parsimony." The plot revolves around a young couple, Della and Jim, who live a Spartan life in their tiny flat. Each wants to buy a special Christmas gift for the other, but there is only a little money for presents. Della sells her beautiful, knee-length hair to buy a watch chain for Jim's prized pocket watch, but at the same time, Jim sells his watch to buy a set of hair combs for Della. They realize that their love for each other is their real gift that they must treasure. The oversized, full-page illustrations are in muted shades of browns and grays, with the only touch of color in Della's muted, rose-colored blouse and complementary roses in the Art Nouveau style decorating each page of text. Each rose is larger than the one preceding, and the stylized flowers are repeated in elegant endpapers printed with twining roses and vines. Though the story is long and of another era, Henry's touching account of young love at Christmas has an enduring appeal. (Picture book. 10 & up)