The Night Before Christmas

With Christmas just around the corner we are re visiting a lot of the Christmas themed books we have collected over the years.

This book is based on the poem penned in 1822 by Clement Clarke Moore when he wrote down Christmas memories for his children. It was originally called "A Visit from St Nicholas" but very quickly the fist line of the poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" replaced the original title.

The book is quite large with a lovely old fashioned picture of Santa Claus on the front cover. This I think makes it instantly appealing to children because very few can resist a picture of Santa eating cookies!
The first four lines of the poem are written on one page with a picture which looks like water colours on the adjoining page and a sleepy mouse under the words. The top and bottom of the page on which the writing is written have scrolling. This design sets the tone for the book- it alludes to a by gone age .

The poem is kept true to the original with there being four lines to a page, which makes the poem flow and makes it easier for the reader to keep the rhyme going .

There are double page spreads where the accompanying picture is underneath the writing and is in black and white, double page spreads featuring large reindeer flying over the rooftops, and lines of the poem with a full page picture at its side. Always the picture alludes to the words of the verse, and always they have an almost magical air.

OTHER INFORMATION...

ISBN: 0-00-716711-3
RRP: £5.99
Publisher: Harper Collins

VERDICT...

This is a lovely book, and because the poem is so evocative of Christmas, it is timeless. It appeals to children of all ages and because the pictures are so detailed there is plenty to look at and to talk about as we read the poem. I like the fact that none of the pictures are harsh looking and also that the pictures accompanying the lines of the poem are sometimes broken up with two pages of the poem, as this helps to maintain the flow and therefore the story line.

The book is great to read aloud and I would thoroughly recommend it as both a Christmas book and an introduction to poems

Thanks for reading

Daniela xx