A Child’s Christmas in Wales audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
Dylan Thomas remembers childhood Christmases in lyrical prose. He first wrote the piece for the radio, and he recorded it himself in 1952, in a reading the Library of Congress has since preserved.
Short answer: for the A Child’s Christmas in Wales audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (65% confidence, leaning). The recording is Dylan Thomas’s own 1952 Caedmon reading, sold by Harper on Audible at 48 minutes including five poems. Audible US labels it abridged, and whether the story text is cut is not confirmed; Iwan Rheon’s 2024 reading (19 minutes) is listed as unabridged. One speaker and a celebrated recording favour audio, while the lyrical prose favours reading.
Listen on Audible
One speaker and an author’s reading preserved in the US National Recording Registry point to audio, but the prose is lyrical and dense.
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Confidence 65%, which puts it in the leaning band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | Our verdict: Dylan Thomas (Harper, Caedmon recording) | Also on both stores: Iwan Rheon (SNR Audio) |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Dylan Thomas, the author | Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor |
| Length | 48 minutes, including five poems | 19 minutes |
| At 1.5x | 32m | about 13m |
| At 2x | 24m | about 10m |
| Abridged or unabridged | Labelled abridged on Audible US; whether the story itself is cut is not confirmed | Unabridged |
| Recorded and released | Recorded 22 February 1952; on Audible since 16 December 1999 | SNR Audio, released 28 November 2024 |
| On Audible UK and US | Both | Both |
| Print length | 64 pages (New Directions paperback, US); 41 pages (Orion, UK, Ardizzone illustrations) | Same editions |
| Price (snapshot) | £5.02 on Audible UK, $9.89 on Audible US | £4.24 on Audible UK, $6.04 on Audible US |
Thomas’s reading is scored. Both are solo readings by named voices, but only the 1952 recording has recognition of its own (the National Recording Registry), which ranks it higher; the rule that the newer recording wins applies only when two are equal. The UK and US Thomas listings share a release date but have different product codes, so whether they are one recording is not confirmed. Philip Madoc’s Naxos reading (12 minutes) is abridged, and the BBC Radio Collection version with Philip Madoc and Freddie Jones is a full-cast dramatisation, so neither is scored.
Lengths checked 21 October 2026. Speed times are calculated from the listed length. Prices are a snapshot from the same day.
A Child’s Christmas in Wales
Dylan Thomas
- Genre
- Prose recollection, often sold as an illustrated gift book
- First published
- Harper’s Bazaar, December 1950; in book form 1954, as a standalone title 1955
- Length
- 64 pages (New Directions paperback)
- On audio
- 48 mins with five poems, Dylan Thomas
- Recording honour
- US National Recording Registry, 2008 (the 1952 reading)
- On screen
- TV film, 1987, with Denholm Elliott; Welsh-language animation, 2008
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: single point of view and narrator (7), award-winning or praised narration (6), 13 points. Reading: literary or dense prose (7), 7 points. 65% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 65% confidence (leaning).
The recording in detail
- Scored
- Dylan Thomas, recorded for Caedmon on 22 February 1952 in New York, sold by Harper on Audible UK and US (48 minutes, with five poems)
- Recording honour
- Selected for the US National Recording Registry in 2008. Smithsonian reports sales of more than 400,000 copies
- Abridgement
- Audible US labels the product abridged. Whether the story text itself is cut is not confirmed
- Listener ratings
- 4.3 from 41 ratings on Audible UK and 4.4 from 262 on Audible US, as of October 2026
- Alternatives
- Iwan Rheon (SNR Audio, 2024, 19 minutes, unabridged); Philip Madoc (Naxos, 2007, 12 minutes, abridged)
- What you miss
- The illustrations in gift editions, and the chance to read a line slowly in print
What this book actually is
A Child’s Christmas in Wales began as “Memories of Christmas”, a talk Dylan Thomas wrote for BBC Wales, broadcast on 16 December 1945. A second piece, “Conversation about Christmas”, followed for Picture Post, and Thomas combined the two during his first North American tour. The combined piece appeared in Harper’s Bazaar in December 1950, then in book form in the US printing of Quite Early One Morning in 1954, and as a standalone title in 1955.
It is a first-person recollection of childhood Christmases: snow, presents, uncles asleep after dinner, a fire in a neighbour’s house. Britannica calls it a “prose recollection”; Common Sense Media calls it a prose poem with no traditional plot and rates it for ages 8 and up. It has been adapted for the stage, as a 1987 TV film with Denholm Elliott, as a 2008 Welsh-language animation voiced by Matthew Rhys, and in a 2025 stage production by Emma Rice.
The case for reading it
The prose is the reason to read it. Critics single out the language itself, and in print you can take a sentence as slowly as it deserves. It is also a book people give as a gift, and the illustrated editions are part of that: Edward Ardizzone’s in the UK, Trina Schart Hyman’s in the US, and Chris Raschka’s more recent version. The US New Directions paperback runs 64 pages.
If you want it alongside other Thomas prose, Penguin’s Little Clothbound Classics edition (6 November 2025, 160 pages) is a collection that closes with this piece. Its price was £12.99 as of October 2026.
The case for listening to it
Thomas read the piece for Caedmon in New York on 22 February 1952, from a borrowed copy of Harper’s Bazaar, as the B-side to five of his poems. The LP came out on 2 April 1952. The Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry in 2008, and Smithsonian reports it has sold more than 400,000 copies. The audio edition on Audible today is that recording, with the five poems, at 48 minutes.
If you want the story alone, or a newer voice, Iwan Rheon’s 2024 reading for SNR Audio is 19 minutes and listed as unabridged, about 10 minutes at 2x. It was rated 5.0 from two ratings on Audible UK and not yet rated on Audible US as of October 2026.
The audiobook in detail
The scored product is Harper’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales (and Five Poems), read by Dylan Thomas, on Audible UK and Audible US, at £5.02 and $9.89 as of October 2026. The 48 minutes includes the five poems, and Audible US labels it abridged. No source confirms how long the story itself runs on this recording, or whether any of it is cut. At 1.5x the whole product takes 32 minutes, at 2x 24 minutes.
Iwan Rheon reads it unabridged for SNR Audio (2024, 19 minutes), and his reading is likely the one in SNR’s 3 hour 35 minute Dylan Thomas Collection, though that is not confirmed. Philip Madoc’s Naxos reading is 12 minutes and abridged. The BBC Radio Collection version is a full-cast dramatisation with Philip Madoc and Freddie Jones, introduced by Matthew Rhys, and is not scored. No solo reading of this piece by Richard Burton or Michael Sheen was found on either store.
Who should ignore this verdict
Print suits anyone buying it as a gift for a child, where the illustrated hardback is the point. Anyone who wants to be certain of the complete text in the author’s voice, given the abridged label, should either check a sample or choose Iwan Rheon’s unabridged reading. Print also suits anyone who loves to read a sentence slowly. The prose is the main reason to read it in print, and it is a strong one.
Audiobook
- Read by Dylan Thomas, the 1952 recording in the National Recording Registry
- 48m with five poems, or 32m at 1.5x
- Iwan Rheon’s unabridged reading is 19m
Kindle
- 64 pages (New Directions); illustrated editions by Ardizzone and Hyman
- Lyrical prose to take at your own pace
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Related verdicts
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
A wintry childhood classic told by one storyteller.
Hamnet
A book whose lyrical prose gives it a Read verdict.
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Questions people ask
Who narrates A Child’s Christmas in Wales audiobook?
Dylan Thomas reads it himself, in the 1952 Caedmon recording sold by Harper on Audible UK and Audible US. Iwan Rheon reads a newer, unabridged version (SNR Audio, 2024).
How long is A Child’s Christmas in Wales audiobook?
Dylan Thomas’s recording is 48 minutes, including five poems; at 1.5x that is 32 minutes and at 2x 24 minutes (calculated). Iwan Rheon’s reading of the story alone is 19 minutes.
Is the Dylan Thomas recording abridged?
Audible US labels the product abridged, and the 48 minutes includes five poems. Whether the story text itself is cut is not confirmed. Iwan Rheon’s reading is listed as unabridged.
Should I read or listen to A Child’s Christmas in Wales?
Listen on our checks (65% confidence, leaning). One speaker and a celebrated 1952 recording by the author favour audio, while the lyrical prose favours print.
Did Dylan Thomas record A Child’s Christmas in Wales?
Yes. He recorded it for Caedmon in New York on 22 February 1952, and the recording was selected for the US National Recording Registry in 2008, credited with launching the audiobook industry in the United States.
Is A Child’s Christmas in Wales a children’s book?
Not strictly. Britannica calls it a prose recollection, but it is often sold as an illustrated children’s gift book, and Common Sense Media rates it for ages 8 and up.
Do you agree with this verdict?
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: the Audible UK and Audible US search listings and product pages, the Library of Congress National Recording Registry blog, dylanthomas.com, Britannica, Common Sense Media, Smithsonian and Book Riot on the 1952 recording, Open Library and Penguin for print editions, and Wikipedia as a secondary source on its history and adaptations.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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