Christian Holidays - Christmas, General & Miscellaneous Holidays, Poetry - Holidays

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Name: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
Author: Christopher Wormell
ISBN: 9780762427178

by Christopher Wormell

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Overview

Clement Clarke Moore’s classic holiday poem, ’Twas The Night Before Christmas, is now re-imagined by award-winning illustrator Christopher Wormell. From stockings hung by the chimney with care” to down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound” Wormell’s trademark illustrations create a fresh look to everyone’s favorite Christmas tale. Sure to be a Christmas favorite for years to come.

The well-known poem about an important Christmas visitor.

Synopsis

Clement Clarke Moore’s classic holiday poem, ’Twas The Night Before Christmas, is now re-imagined by award-winning illustrator Christopher Wormell. From “stockings hung by the chimney with care” to “down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound” Wormell’s trademark illustrations create a fresh look to everyone’s favorite Christmas tale. Sure to be a Christmas favorite for years to come.

Publishers Weekly

With their strong black lines and deep colors, Wormell's signature block prints are a fittingly iconic pairing for Moore's holiday classic. Wormell sets the tone from the outset with a solemn portrait of a shingled house, dead quiet under a clear winter's night sky. Before long, Santa appears, and Wormell delivers several (almost too many) stately images of the "right jolly old elf," as he goes about his business. Though the illustrations can feel overly literal, this is an enchanting and elegant adaptation. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

About the Author, Christopher Wormell

Christopher Wormell, in addition to wood engraving, works in advertising, design, editorial illustration, and has written several other books such as The Animals Came Two By Two; Wings, Horns, and Claws; and The New Alphabet of Animals. He began his career in illustration by creating Christmas cards with his father. He lives in London with his wife and three children.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library for School Library Journal
"The Christmas poem gets a bold yet classic new look with Wormell’s stunning linoleum-block print illustrations. For the most part, the text, in fanciful font, is on the verso and a print, often outlined in black and drenched in deep blues, reds, and blacks, is on the right; there are also several spreads. The effect is somewhat retro, evoking magazine illustrations from the ’20s and ’30s, yet also modern in its impeccable design. Children and adults alike will appreciate this stylish version"

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2—The Christmas poem gets a bold yet classic new look with Wormell's stunning linoleum-block print illustrations. For the most part, the text, in fanciful font, is on the verso and a print, often outlined in black and drenched in deep blues, reds, and blacks, is on the right; there are also several spreads. The effect is somewhat retro, evoking magazine illustrations from the '20s and '30s, yet also modern in its impeccable design. Children and adults alike will appreciate this stylish version.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-An ideal showcase for Hawkes's artistic abilities. The collection contains three traditional pieces ("Jolly Old Saint Nicholas," "The Friendly Beasts," and "A Visit from St. Nicholas"); an excerpt from The Wind in the Willows; and a story by Albert Bigelow Paine, "Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn." The dense text may be better suited to family sharing than independent reading. Full-color paintings are lush and luminous with lots of clever details. However, with its limited number of selections, this title may not be a first choice for libraries looking for holiday anthologies. Michael Forman's Christmas Treasury (Pavilion, 2000) is a far more comprehensive volume.-T. T. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Hawkes (Handel Who Knew What He Liked, p. 1352, etc.) illustrates this large-format anthology of Christmas stories and poems with his luminous, detail-filled paintings featuring muffler-wrapped field mice, a comical dog in a Santa suit, and a traditional St. Nicholas traveling across a midnight-blue sky. A selection from The Wind in the Willows finds Mole and Rat returning to Mole's house, where they are serenaded by a troop of caroling mice who are then invited in for a delectable holiday feast. "Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn" by Albert Bigelow Paine tells the story of an enterprising dog who plays Santa Claus for his circle of animal friends, and Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" completes the collection with old-fashioned illustrations of a snowy New England village. The Christmas carols included are "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and "The Friendly Beasts." No new ground is broken in this volume, but Hawkes's illustrations are appealing, especially his costumed animal characters, and readers will be drawn to the attractive cover with the title in raised golden letters. (Picture book. 5-8)