‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… This is the famous opening line from the poem The Night Before Christmas (aka A Visit From St. Nicholas) written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822, over 200 years ago. A poem that features as a children’s book and is still read today on Christmas Eve to children the world over. It is also a poem that introduced the modern version of Santa Claus / Father Christmas to the world. A Christmas classic.
There are lots of different versions of The Night Before Christmas. They all feature the classic words by Clement Clarke Moore but all versions have different illustrators to give a slightly different reimaging of this classic tale. For this review I have been reading a version that has been beautifully illustrated by Robert Dunn.
The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Robert Dunn, is a children’s picture book. It is 24 pages in length and features the classic poem that everybody has heard, even if just the opening line “’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…” But I bet you also know another part too, “He had a broad face, and a round little belly. That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.”
The book tells the story of a man and his family on Christmas Eve. Everybody has gone to bed, and everyone is asleep, including the children and mice. But then the man is awoken from his slumber by a sudden noise, he then goes to investigate. He soon finds St. Nick (Father Christmas or Santa Claus) in his house putting presents under the tree.
Overall, The Night Before Christmas is a classic Christmas tale that all children love to read and have read to them. It is an enchanting rhyming story (poem), full of Christmas cheer that will get everybody in the mood for the Christmas festivities. It would make an excellent addition to any Christmas Eve Box, the perfect bedtime tale for that most special of nights.
Everybody knows the story or at least parts of it, every Christmas you will hear lines from in the media or even in your favourite Christmas movies. But this children’s book, whilst still having the originally poem as the story, has been beautifully illustrated by Robert Dunn. Its engaging Christmas images will delight any child. Most of the colourful images are vivid and bright and do an excellent job of telling the tale of Santa Claus, his reindeer and sleigh visiting houses to deliver his presents to the children of the world. There are some darker images, such as when Santa is in a darkened room with only the glow of the fireplace, but his red costume shines through and if you look closely enough you will see the man peering around the door. But I think the images are very well drawn, add to the mystery of the story and are very detailed – even if you do have to pay that bit more attention to the darkened scenes to take in the full picture.
This is an excellent poem (short story), perfect for bedtime reading on Christmas Eve. The well-detailed and beautiful illustrations that accompany the timeless poem are fantastic. It’s already been around for 200 years and will be around for years and decades to come as it is a tale that never gets old. It’s easy to read and digest with the rhyming text pulling in the readers.
The Night Before Christmas is a book that millions of children read every Christmas and this beautifully illustrated picture book with the classic poem with let even more children enjoy the wonders of a classic Christmas tale this year.
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £5.99
Available to buy from The Works here.
