When was miracle on 34th street written

Tomie dePaola illustrator. Millions of copies of this award-winning story have sold since its first publication in , delighting readers of all ages. A facsimile edition of the book is now faithfully re-created, offering a new generation--and fans of the original--the beauty of the classic s design.

Details of how the book came to be written, and made into a beloved film, are included in a brief historical note. Get A Copy. Hardcover , pages. More Details Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Miracle on 34th Street , please sign up. Does anybody know the genre of this book? Phoebe Children's or holiday : …more Children's or holiday : less. See all 3 questions about Miracle on 34th Street…. Lists with This Book.

Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of Miracle on 34th Street. I was raised in a dark, distant time.

Where I lived, we didn't get cable. There were three broadcast channels, and PBS, and you were at their mercy. They showed the holiday classics once each year, and if you missed that single broadcast - woe unto you! So it was a great comfort to have this book as a youngster, as it is frequently a verbatim retelling of the film, just in case I managed to miss my one opportunity to see the movie.

Since I seriously doubt anyone reading this review is unfamiliar with the film, I'll give only the briefest recap: a man who's convinced he's the real Santa Claus has to convince others of his identity. Chief among the doubters are a jaded divorced mother and her cynical young daughter. And if you can't, then you're only a nice man with a white beard, like Mother says!

Kringle does not take lightly. For Kris had begun to realize that Doris and little Susan were but unhappy products of their times.

They presented a real challenge to him - a sort of test-case for Santa Claus. If he could win them over, if he could get them to believe in him - then there was still hope. If not, Santa Claus and all he stood for were through. There is a trial with a very funny denouement, and an ending that never fails to elicit both a tear and a smile from this cynical, jaded old gal.

Read the book, or see the movie, but DO make this little miracle a regular part of your holiday celebrations. View all 10 comments. Sounds a bit batty, right? Only a few supporters truly believe him to be the real Santa Claus. And Doris and her little daughter, Susan, are skeptics as well.

He may be a nice, little old man, but there is no such thing as Santa… right? With a little help from believer and lawyer Fred Gayley, Kris will need to prove his identity in order to disprove a case of insanity.

According to the historical note at the end of the book, Valentine Davies had the idea for the story which he took to screenwriter and director George Seaton, who then turned it into a screenplay which was released in Davies then wrote a novelization of the story which was published in conjunction with the movie.

For the most part, I find that I prefer a book over a movie. Not so here. I hoped the book would bring back some of that magic. Unfortunately, it failed to do so. The prose was rather simple and the characters were flat. There were a few special quotes, but not enough to make the story highly engaging. It pains me to say I just wanted to rush through this and check it off my list. I feel like the Grinch! But really, Christmas is a magical time of year, full of wonder, and I enjoy it as much as the next person.

View all 8 comments. Dec 14, Werner rated it it was ok Recommends it for: Those looking for undemanding Christmas reading. Shelves: general-fiction. First airing in theaters in , and based on a story by Valentine Davies though the actual screenplay was by George Seaton Miracle on 34th St. In contrast, the novelization, done by Davies himself, is so little known that I had to add it to the Goodreads database myself when I began reading it two days ago.

I started reading it because one of my Goodreads groups has a thread for classic Christmas books, and I wanted to c First airing in theaters in , and based on a story by Valentine Davies though the actual screenplay was by George Seaton Miracle on 34th St. I started reading it because one of my Goodreads groups has a thread for classic Christmas books, and I wanted to contribute something to that.

Having read the book, I could understand its relative obscurity. This is actually one of the very rare cases where I enjoyed the film more than the book. The movie and the novel were released simultaneously; so Davies probably never watched the movie itself before novelizing it. He probably worked from Seaton's screenplay, though we aren't told.

I'm guessing that his writing schedule may also have been considerably rushed to meet that deadline. At smaller-than-standard pages, with good-sized type and a lot of white space, the book is definitely a quick read. It reproduces, in bare-bones fashion, the essentials of the movie storyline some incidents in the film are omitted or changed here ; but in general, the film version is the more detailed in developing the characters and events, and the more emotionally evocative.

Davies comes across as very mediocre in his literary gifts; he's produced a dry retelling of the story, with a great deal of telling rather than showing, and a fairly flat tone. Since I've seen the movie more than once , the book benefited from my familiarity with the characters, but if I'd only read the book, I probably wouldn't have been as engaged with them; and the fact that I'd seen the film acted to eliminate any suspense or tension in the narration.

A better writer, with more apparent understanding of fictional technique, could have really adapted the material to the written medium and made it compelling; Davies didn't. I was also surprised to find that the book has one d-word early on --the film, in keeping with the Hollywood standards of that day, has no bad language. I didn't really dislike the book it benefits from nostalgia for the movie ; but I hesitate to recommend it --readers who've seen the movie are apt to be disappointed with this pallid version, while readers who haven't seen the celluloid version might assume it's as lackluster as the book, and miss a good viewing experience.

Also, I've always had mixed feelings about the message conveyed by both book and movie. Yes, I get that "Santa Claus" functions here as in some other classic works, such as Francis Church's "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" for the warm-fuzzy side of human experience: altruism, optimism, belief in intangibles, recognition of a dimension to reality that's outside the coldly rational, pessimistic and self-centered.

As such, I naturally sympathize. BUT, I also believe it's possible to reject a materialist and egoistic view of the universe without necessarily equating this with a claim that an immortal man in a red suit lives at the North Pole and delivers gifts to all the world's children via their chimneys on Christmas Eve; and that one can recognize the limits of reason without actually disparaging reason "Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to" is, unfortunately, a prime example of the latter.

What Seaton and Davies are preaching is essentially postmodernism: objective reality doesn't matter; all that really matters is whatever you subjectively want to believe. That's not, ultimately, the most helpful way of relating to reality. And it can be particularly pernicious when it takes the form of claiming that the warm-fuzzy side of human experience is a myth, but a myth that's the comforting province of childhood; i. It's always seemed to me that this is what the conventional practice of making kids believe in Santa actually is based on.

Of course, I don't know much about it from personal experience; I don't ever recall believing in Santa, and had figured out by the time I was five that he was just a man dressed up in a red suit and fake beard. My wife and I are both firm believers in the intangible dimension of reality: in the importance of love, caring and generosity; the idea of meaning and purpose in the universe; existential optimism; the value of believing in the unseen. For us, this is in accord with what reason leads us to, though it goes beyond reason, and it's centrally embodied in the baby born in a stable at Bethlehem, to bring mankind peace and goodwill in an eternal scheme of things.

We always tried to lead our kids to the understanding that this is what Christmas is about, and we never deliberately told them untruths; they knew about the historical St. Nicholas as an example of gift-giving, and they always knew where Christmas gifts really came from. Every parent or set of parents, of course, has to do what they honestly believe is best in that area. But that's what we felt best to do, and I would do it again; so that colors my approach to this tale.

All of that said, we've watched the movie as a family, and appreciated it as a fictional metaphor --we just didn't confuse metaphor with reality! Dec 13, Gizem-in-Wonderland rated it it was amazing Shelves: christmas. Bells jingling for this amazingly heart-warming Christmas-oozing book.

I can literally smell the gingerbread cookies, feel the snowy winter, hear the sleigh bells and taste its unique sweetness. My heart is like a marshmellow right now. What a lovely book! Having devoured it in one sitting, I can easily say with a clear conscience and light heart that it's an amazingly fulfilling, cozy and elating read. Finally, for all the cynics out there: "Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to. Nov 27, Primrose Jess rated it it was amazing.

This is the first book that I have read where the author admittedly wrote it for a screenplay then translated it into book form. It reads that way and I loved it. I felt I was reading the movie but in a more explored, in depth way. I loved the experience. I loved following Susan's path from skeptic to unabashedly believing in the existence of Santa Claus.

I mean, if the United States Post Office believes in the guy, who can refute that? Reading about Doris's thawing from her divorce, which is This is the first book that I have read where the author admittedly wrote it for a screenplay then translated it into book form. Reading about Doris's thawing from her divorce, which is alluded to being quite damaging to her, was heartwarming. The patience and love Fred has for her is sweet. But ultimately, the point Valentine Davies was trying to make in , is the Christmas is getting too commercialized.

We need to stop and reflect what it is all about. It isn't about the shopping, trying to one up each other, racing around to find that perfect present. It is about having faith, enjoying each other, peace and good will towards all. My copy is a edition I found in a used bookstore. It is pencilled up from the prior reader and I loved it. This was a well loved copy belonging to someone who loved the message. I think the note I loved the best and I am inferring it; is at the end of a chapter where Fred is left anxiously wondering what "competent source" he can produce for the Judge to prove the existence of Santa Claus.

The former book owner writes "See pg ". Doris has a postscript that acknowledges her belief. Sometimes faith is all you need to have as a competent source to support belief. Happy Holidays, Goodreads Friends!! View 2 comments. When Kris Kringle begins to work as Macy's Santa and tells everyone that he is the real Santa, Doris worries as he winds up living with her and Susan.

Doris is a skeptic and Susan is starting to become one as well. When Santa goes to trial to prove his identity, its not just these two that "Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to. When Santa goes to trial to prove his identity, its not just these two that Mr. Kringle needs to convince. Connections Featured in The Screen Writer User reviews Review. Top review. Classic holiday fare. Its very easy to see why this movie won the Oscar for Screenplay that year.

Its very intelligent and has a lot to say about several topics - how to raise a child, how a person of questionable sanity gets treated, how greedy businessmen are, how politics play out in a courtroom.. Doris has raised Susie to be very practical and to think for herself, but she neglected to teach Susie one thing - how to be a child, when you ARE a child.

Enter Mr. Gayley John Payne , a struggling lawyer who befriends Susie as a way to get to know her Mom better. Doris works at Macy's and is organizing their Thanksgiving Day Parade, when the Santa they've hired is intoxicated. He ends up being such a big hit that he gets hired to work at Macy's also.

Schoenfeld's, he says, has what she's looking for. Don't want to give away any more, but the movie is touching, dramatic and hysterical - Doris on the phone with her co-workers' wife, who has been given too much liquor, is worth a million bucks alone. Susie overhearing this is beginning to think that Kris might be the real thing, and she's a pretty hard nut to crack, for a little kid. See it, own it, memorize it.. Boyo-2 Nov 21, FAQ 8. What is 'Miracle on 34th Street' about?

Is 'Miracle on 34th Street' based on a book? What do Kris Kringle and the little Dutch girl say to each other? Details Edit. Release date July 4, Canada. United States.

Official site. English Dutch. It's Only Human. Twentieth Century Fox. Box office Edit. Technical specs Edit. Runtime 1 hour 36 minutes. Black and White. Related news. Sep 22 Indiewire. Dec 1 E! It seems the whole production was nothing short of a Miracle. While filming the final scene, when Susan spots her dream house, the weather was so cold that production had to stop to let the cameras thaw. In the meantime, as recalled by TCM , a nearby neighbor invited the cast inside for warmth.

He was going to send it to me, but tragically died before he could get around to it. I never saw it and have often wondered what happened to it.

It seems the Christmas spirit was alive during production just as much as it is in the final film. I got such a big kick out of seeing the expressions of window dressers when they saw Edmund peering in at them—I knew then that he was going to make a big splash as Santa Claus