The Night Before Christmas

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's 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.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Like Whatley (see above), Tudor also whisks readers to New England, this time to a quiet spot in early-19th-century Vermont. Her cozy, nostalgic watercolor scenes, often lit by candle or roaring fire, are viewed as if through a large oval peephole. Loose ink lines and slightly hazy figures succeed in creating an aura of holiday fantasy. A spunky, elfin Saint Nicholas, a menagerie of perky pets (including the corgis, of course) and a very busy family of mice partying beneath the floorboards add a sense of fun. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Two mini-books may be just right for stuffing stockings: Clement C. Moore's The Night Before Christmas, illus. with vintage 19th-century children's book scenes, compiled by Cooper Edens and Harold Darling; and The Nutcracker, illus. by Michael Hague, whose images nicely toggle between realistic scenes and those of the sumptuous land of sugarplums. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

Here is yet another way to illustrate this classic Christmas poem. Each page has a tab to pull. Pull the tabs to change the picture in the window in the center of the illustration from a monochromatic outline to full color. Children will be amazed and impressed with these "magic windows." Yet there are a number of design issues here. First, there is no flow from one page to the next. Each page is an individual illustration for several lines of the poem. There is no consideration for the continuity of the storyline. This contributes to a cluttered and disjointed look as one turns the page. In the page beginning, "His eyes how they twinkled!" there is a profile picture of Santa on the lower half of the page. The Magic Windows picture is also of Santa. This might be confusing for children to see two Santas on the same page. While the idea is clever, the execution lacks distinction. 2003, A Quarto Children's Book/Running Press Kids, Ages 4 to 8.
— Sharon Salluzzo

Children's Literature - Carlee Hallman

In this traditional Christmas poem, the pictures show Santa driving a space ship, although he still has reindeer. The dashboard of the sleigh has various dials that read: NITROUS GAMA E-INJECT, CONTINENT, HOT CHOCOLATE, and SPACE COMPRESS. In the illustration for "He was dressed all in fur," Santa wears white furry trousers. Various elves carry a plastic tape dispenser, dog milk bone, an origami stork, and use a vacuum cleaner. The artist has an interview with St. Nick in which the question of how Santa is able to distribute all the presents in one night is answered, "the sleigh is able to expand the moment between ‘tick' and ‘tock' on Christmas Eve." Children and their parents will enjoy the artist's humorous interpretation of this old favorite.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 5 No nostalgia here! Marshall's cartoon-like illustrations for Moore's well-known and much-loved poem are thoroughly modern, often very funny and typical of the artist. A cozy Cape Cod house sits in the snow with the unstirring mouse nestled in the bright green wreath on its door. Plump dogs, cats, a chicken (and even a mouse) abound in the comfortably cluttered house in which stockings are hung and people sleep. The animals join Papa as he watches the arrival of the plump old elf down the road and up to the roof. After his unceremonious entrance but before his gift distribution, St. Nick (in his cowboy boots with stars) poses for a photograph taken by the mouse and raids the refrigerator with his reindeer hungrily looking on. As St. Nick's final wish for a happy Christmas is exclaimed, the animals settle down again amid the bountiful and brightly decorated packages. Although the format is predictable (one page of text next to a one-page illustration), this is a fresh look at an old narrative. It may not appeal to everyone, but should cause all (except perhaps Scrooges) to chuckle. Maria B. Salvadore , District of Columbia Public Library

Carolyn Phelan

Rand illustrates Moore's famous poem in a large-format picture book that showcases his colorful paintings in a series of double-page spreads. Even children in the back row of a story-time group will get the full effect of the moonlit New England snowscapes and cozy, period interiors. Not a stretch for Rand, but he's comfortably in his stride here, and his fans will find plenty to like. In fact, almost anyone looking for a traditional, soft-focus interpretation of this Christmas favorite will find it an appealing picture book.

Kirkus Reviews

A smiling Santa in goggles and aviator helmet speeds up the Christmas Eve delivery system with updated transportation from his "Far Northair" sleigh. This futuristic-looking vehicle still uses eight reindeer, but additional propulsion is controlled through sophisticated equipment in the covered cockpit (including a built-in beverage maker with choices from hot chocolate to borsht). This interpretation of Moore's classic poem finds Santa making a delivery to a household with three children in a traditional, suburban neighborhood. The father of the family springs out of bed in a panic in one dramatic spread, with his hand seeming to stretch right off the page toward the reader. A diverse crew of helpers joins Santa on his Christmas Eve flight, with costumed elves from many countries and ethnic groups helping to unload the toys and clean the soot off Santa's red cape, furry pants and pointed boots. Elves and toys decorate the endpapers and also appear as spot illustrations at the end of the poem's verses, which are attractively framed with bold, red borders on alternating spreads. An "interview" of St. Nick by illustrator Watson concludes the volume. (Picture book. 3-7)

From Barnes & Noble

"'Twas the night before Christmas…" is perhaps the best-known line of holiday poetry ever written. This children's edition is beautifully illustrated by noted artist Leonard Weisgard and is sure to bring "visions of sugar-plums" to your child's dreams.