A Christmas Child

Born on the day after Christmas in a house by the sea, little Ted begins life as a fragile baby whose mother worries over his health. As he grows stronger, his surroundings become a source of delight: distant mountains, white sails, smooth beach stones and waves that seem to play with him. Mrs. Molesworth follows his early childhood through small discoveries, affectionate family scenes and the words he uses while learning to understand the world.

One telling episode begins when Ted takes a lump of soda from a grocer's shop, believing that shopkeepers keep things for anyone who wants them. His mother explains payment and ownership, and he readily agrees to return it. Published in 1880, this children's story combines a close interest in a young boy's thinking with lessons in honesty, kindness and Christian family life. Its seaside details and patient conversations give readers a view of childhood as adults of the period hoped to nurture it.