Twas The Night Before Christmas

by Anonymous

Matt Tavares (Illustrator)

"It may be hard to believe, but there was once a time when Santa Claus only needed three or four elves to run his workshop. His annual Christmas Eve journey was mush shorter back then too, as most children outside of Holland and Germany didn't even know who Santa was. But then, in 1823, everything changed. In December of that year, The Troy Sentinel, a newspaper in upstate New York, printed an anonymous poem entitled "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas." This was the first time many children in America had heard of Santa Claus. Naturally, they wondered what might happen if they hung their stockings by the chimney, just like the children in the poem. On Christmas Eve of that year, many tried it. Sure enough, when those children awoke on Christmas morning, they were greeted by the sweet smells of sugarplums and the thrill of new, handcarved toys. News of this incredible phenomenon spread quickly. Soon the poem was reprinted all over the world, and Santa Claus has been a very busy man ever since."

• ISBN10: 0763615854
• ISBN13: 9780763615857
• Publish Date: 4 November 2002
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 5 October 2010
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Walker Books Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 32
• Language: English

Reviews

[cherryblossommj]

This is amazing. When I saw this one the list of recommended reads for the Memoria Press Third Grade, I thought surely it is not necessary as I already have two other versions by other illustrations, more whimsical than this black and white. But then when I got it out at the library, boy did I discover a treasure. I will have to look for this one to buy. The first page has a little historical note about the original presentation of the Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas, now known to us as The Night Before Christmas. This is fabulous. The pictures are enchanting and almost pure magic. Even in black and white they are truly fascinating on their own especially with the kept tradition of the original wording, and original spelling. I'm enchanted and now know why this was the edition and version chosen. My library has a great condition copy, but I think we'll have to own this one.