The Night Before Christmas

*****This American Christmas classic is now available in this turn-of-the-century format and is beautifully illustrated in full-color throughout.

Publishers Weekly

Folk artist and preacher Finster infuses his interpretation of the traditional holiday poem with his characteristic evangelical verve. Patterned with what look to be brush doodlings, his surreal compositions create a psychedelic party mood that contrasts sharply with the rather staid verse. Each spread is framed by a running word-border of such Finster preachings as "I am trying to get people back to God before the end of the earths [sic] planet." An eccentric dose of holiday cheer. All ages. (Oct.)

Clement C. Moore (1779–1863), an American scholar and poet, first wrote The Night Before Christmas in 1822 to entertain his children. A friend submitted it to a local newspaper, The Troy Sentinel, where it was published on December 23, 1823. Moore's delightful description of St. Nicholas and his eight flying reindeer has since become the definitive portrait of Santa Claus.