The Horn Book Guide

LITERATURE

Moore, Clement C.

The Night Before Christmas

32 pp. | Putnam | October, 2009 | Trade ISBN 978-0-399-25408-6 $16.99

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Rachel Isadora. Isadora creatively recasts Moore's famous verse, transporting readers to a snow-dusted African village. St. Nick, cheeks rosy against brown skin, is dressed in a big red coat and jaunty red hat, beneath which spill snowy-white dreadlocks. His gifts include African dolls and stuffed animals. Throughout the collage illustrations, patterns, colors, and textures beautifully evoke the familiarity of Christmas within a nontraditional setting.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009