• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 7 to 12

For five decades, Alan Maitland was celebrated for his resonant mellow CBC radio voice - and perhaps, most famously, for the stories he read over the airwaves in his alter ego of Fireside Al. For 19 years, Fireside Al read his favourite stories to a devoted radio audience and even though Alan Maitland died in 1999, his voice has been captured for posterity in a highly valued set of sound recordings of these magnificent performances.

Now ten of Maitland's favourite Christmas stories are being given new life in this Christmas gift book for the whole family. Fireside Al's Treasury of Christmas Stories includes:

• The familiar words of O. Henry's celebrated short story, The Gift of the Magi"
• Along with Francis P. Church's famous Christmas editorial: "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"
• "The Santa Claus Trap" by Margaret Atwood
• Stephen Leacock's gentle seasonal wit in "The Errors of Santa Claus"
• Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "Christmas at Sea" and
• Robert Service's "The Trapper's Christmas Eve"

Each with a very different take on the theme of seasonal love and joy. And there are more delectable treats in store from Fireside Al's Christmas cupboard.

The treasury gains special lustre from the magnificently detailed and richly coloured paintings of Alan Daniel, Canada's best-loved illustrator of children's books. Above all the package is completed by a bound-in CD of Alan Maitland's reading of the ten stories included in the book.

Alan Maitland was a veteran CBC announcer and award-winning broadcaster. Popularly known as Fireside Al and Front Porch Al, he delighted listeners across the country with his inimitable storytelling. He was co-host of As It Happens, from 1974 until 1993, sharing the studio with Barbara Frum, Elizabeth Gray, Dennis Trudeau, and Michael Enright. In 1980, he and then co-host Barbara Frum shared an ACTRA Award for Best Public Affairs Broadcasters.

Alan Maitland's profile page

Alan Daniel is a painter and illustrator whose work is characterized by its energy and fine draftsmanship. His skills were honed in the studio of J. Merle Smith who, along with master watercolorist Kalman Banitz, provided a rigorous art education. A Kitchener resident for many years, Alan draws inspiration from the city, from the colours and contours of the landscape surrounding it and from rocky Muskoka where he summers. Well-known for his paintings of water, ranging from a springtime river to fierce ocean storms, he was commissioned to create several paintings for The Sea is At Our Gates, a movie created to celebrate the Canadian Navy. The human face and figure as well as birds and animals are also frequent subjects. Alan's work has been exhibited at the National Library of Canada; the Gallery/Stratford; York University, Toronto; Mable's Fables, Toronto; Homer Watson Gallery; Kitchener Public Art Gallery; Kitchener Public Library; Aaron Gallery, Waterloo; Hunsberger Gallery, St. Jacobs; Staircase Gallery, New York City; KOR Gallery, Kitchener; Canada at Bologna exhibit; in Paris at an exhibit to celebrate Quebec City's designation as a World Heritage Site. Alan's work space is located in Globe Studios Artists Co-op where he paints and teaches. He is an award-winning illustrator of many books for children.

Alan Daniel's profile page