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'Die Hard' Is Now A Christmas-Themed Children's Book That You Need In Your Life

The book is an abridged adaptation of the first Die Hard with a extra Christmas twist on it.

By Allie Z.Published 6 years ago 4 min read
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'Die Hard' [Credit: Fox]

In a few months, the Christmas season will be here. It'll be time to deck the halls with festive décor, trim the tree with ornaments and sing a carol or two. One of the activities most families love to partake in is the telling of classic Christmas tales. Traditional tales usually work to get people into the spirit, but if you're looking for something new this year, something a bit unconventional that also lets you celebrate your love of Die Hard, then A Die Hard Christmas might be just what you're looking for.

Slashfilm first reported on A Die Hard Christmas, an illustrated retelling of the unconventional Christmas movie starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman. The book is an abridged adaptation of the first Die Hard with a extra Christmas twist on it. It was always a Christmas story, to be fair, but that aspect of it went to the wayside during all the action-packed moments in the 1988 film. Now, it appears as though A Die Hard Christmas is taking those Christmas elements and amplifying them.

The newest take on Die Hard will still follow the gun-toting John McClane as he works his way through a high-rise to stop a group of terrorists from ruining Christmas. Keep in mind, this version of McClane will probably be a bit merrier than his cinematic counterpart, but don't expect him to hold back on the ass-kicking because that's what he's known for. Oh, and we can't forget about McClane's awesome one-liners — those definitely have to come with him to this book version, too.

'A Die Hard Christmas' [Credit: Insight Editions]

Not only will McClane bring some serious merriment to the holiday season in this novel look at Die Hard, but his greatest foe, Hans Gruber, is assuredly going to join him as the Grinch of A Die Hard Christmas. There's no doubt that Hans will be running through every step of his scheme, tiptoeing around like a sneaky Grinch, making sure nothing in his plan is amiss while ruining the lives of everyone around him. Building up to the final point of his master plan where he reveals that he's done everything just to ruin Christmas. Of course, we can count on the clever John McClane to be hot on his trail every step of the way, barefoot and bleeding as usual.

[Credit: Art by Josh Cooley]

A Die Hard Christmas Is A Fun Gift, But Is It Kid-Friendly?

As far as the book's appearance goes, A Die Hard Christmas is drawn so it looks like a kid-friendly book. The illustrations are done in a style that makes it reasonable for most people to assume it's a kid-friendly gift — but that's where the appearance can be deceiving. Despite the cover having a cute picture on the front, this is one book you don't want to accidentally read to your kid, unless you're that type of hip parent who reads anything and everything to their kids.

'A Die Hard Christmas' [Credit: Insight Editions]

Getting kids to sit down and watch classic movies is a challenge in itself, but this illustrated format presents the perfect medium to get them intrigued. Who knows, your kids might even ask to watch Die Hard after having A Die Hard Christmas read to them. And what parent doesn't want to hear their kid ask for permission to watch an R-rated movie.

Apparently, Lots Of R-Rated Movies Can Become Kid-Friendly

In addition to A Die Hard Christmas, various other artists have adapted classic R-rated movies into illustrated versions of the originals for books, too. For example, John Cooley, an artist and writer for Pixar, compiled of collection of his own artwork depicting various movie scenes into a book called Movies R Fun! A Collection of Classics For The Pre-(Film) School Cinephile. The collection of images looks like something out of a children's book, until the gritty subject matter becomes evident. When that realization dawns on you, it becomes pretty clear Cooley's book isn't kid-friendly, even though it looks that way.

Movies R' Fun! A Collection Of Classics For The Pre-(Film) School Cinephile [Credit: art by Josh Cooley]

With the collection of images depicting various scenes from films like Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Godfather and Alien, it would be pretty surprising to find that a child flipping through the book isn't traumatized by the visuals therein. The illustrations aren't over-the-top or grotesque in any way; they're are actually quite tasteful. But to the impressionable, younger mind, these images could leave a long-standing impression.

[Credit: art by Josh Cooley]

For those of us who are old enough to remember those classic films and appreciate Cooley's stills for what they represent, this collection of images are a piece of cinema memorabilia everyone should own. If you don't want to take my word for it, just take a moment to look at Cooley's work which is available on his website.

A Die Hard Christmas will be released in October. Josh Cooley's book of illustrations, Movies R Fun! A Collection of Classics For The Pre-(Film) School Cinephile, can be found on Amazon and various other book retailers.

[Source: Slashfilm]

literature
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About the Creator

Allie Z.

I cover most entertainment related topics and am venturing into journalism.

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