NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS & OTHER FESTIVE FAVOURITES

Clement C. Moore's classic A Night Before Christmas or Account of A Visit From St Nicholas begins ''Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there. The children were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads...' Exquisitely drawn silhouette illustrations show the house with the spinning wheel in the attic, a child kneeling in prayer, the rocking horse, the parents in their room. Each room is beautifully decorated, the tree in the hallway by the sweeping staircase and the stockings hanging on the mantlepiece over the chimney, the church and bare trees in the background. With sometimes black night-sky pages, Santa and the reindeer with their beautiful antlers, a half moon and spiny trees cutaway in white turn to black and red on white on the next page as we read 'Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!' The second story is The Nutcracker page 35 and finally Jingle Bells on page 61 by James Lord Pierpont, and all three stories in these exquisite silhouette black and white illustrations with flashes of bright green for the Christmas trees and red for presents, gold for clock faces and decorations and lit windows. Natee Puttapipat was born in Thailand and is one of our finest book illustrators, here capturing all the magic and excitement of Christmas. For youngsters or adult collectors, 78 page Walker Book.