The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore (Illustrated by Robert Ingpen) Christmas Kids Picks

Details: Hardcover, 48 pgs
Published: October 2010 by Sterling Publishing

isbn: 1402781822 (ISBN13: 9781402781827)

Reading Level: Children

Received from: Sterling Publishing for review

Description:

Let the holiday magic begin!
Stockings hung by the chimney with care. Visions of sugarplums dancing. And that jolly old elf, St. Nick, with his eight tiny reindeer.  That can mean only one thing: it's The Night Before Christmas!
From popular children's illustrator Robert Ingpen comes a beautiful new interpretation of the classic holiday poem. Ingpen's stunning pictures capture all the warmth, wonder, and humor of Clement C. Moore's beloved verse. It's perfect for the family to share and a magical start to every Christmas eve.

My Thoughts:
This is a Holiday classic, what family doesn't read The Night Before Christmas around the holidays?  There are so many versions of the story with so many different illustrators it's hard to make a decision on which one to buy if your perhaps looking for a gift, or maybe purchasing your first one for your own family.  
This one tells us about Clement C. Moore on the first page, before the story begins, and about how he wrote the poem for his own children.  As many times as I've read and heard this story I didn't even think about how it came about!  So personally, other the amazing illustrations of St. Nick, that's my favorite part.  

Now the story is the same classic story and is as fun to read as ever.  What really sets this one apart is the illustrations.  These illustrations aren't necessarily 'fun', but they fit the term 'classic' perfectly.   I really love how the Santa Clause, or St. Nick, is illustrated in this one! 
My kids sat and listened well to the story as there were few words on each page.  I can imagine that it maybe wouldn't hold their attention as well if there were more words though because the colors aren't terribly vibrant, and the pages aren't full.  Meaning many pages still have a lot of white. I think the illustrations are more pleasing to an adults eye.  But that's just my opinion.  
I do think that if you are looking for a classic to read Christmas Eve, before everyone is off to bed, this is perfect!  Because you don't want a cute book, or a silly book, but one that really makes you feel the magic.  And this one truly does that job!  
I'm going to give this one 5/5 moons for the story (DUH!) and 4/5 for illustrations.


You can find the other books illustrated by Robert Ingpen on his Goodreads page.
You can purchase the book at your favorite bookstore or using my affiliate links (to the left and below).  All commissions made will be used to fund contests on my blog.
Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review.  All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.