I have a serious problem. I can't resist a beautifully illustrated copy of The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore. I open the cover and then get lost in the illustrations, all as varied as the individual artists who created them.
(click any photos to enlarge)
I've gotten some of my books on-line, some at used & new bookstores, and some at thrift & junktique stores. In this post I'll share some of my books, along with the illustrator's name and original copyright date (just in case you fall in love with a particular version and want to hunt down your own copy!) I'll just show you the covers first - then if you're interested in reading further, I'll include sample pages from each book so you get a feel for the beautiful pictures waiting to be discovered inside!
Beginning with the oldest:
"An Exact Reprint of an Early Edition," no copyright or illustrator listed.
Arthur Rackham version, copyright 1931
Eleanora Madsen, copyright 1940
Corinne Malvern, copyright 1949
Elizabeth Webbe, copyright 1950
Gyo Fujikawa, copyright 1961
Nino Carbe, copyright 1964
Tomie dePaola, copyright 1980
(one of my all time favorite children's book authors/illustrators who we got to meet at a booksigning last year... great memories of reading his books to my girls when they were little)
Greg & Tim Hilderbrandt, copyright 1981
Cyndy Szekeres, copyright 1982
(as you can see, I own a mini book, a softcover and a hardback of this version - it's too cute for words!!)
James Marshall, copyright 1985
(a favorite - I read lots of James Marshall books to my girls when they were little!)
Cheryl Harness, copyright 1989
James Rice, copyright 1989
John Steven Gurney, copyright 1989
Jane Chambless, copyright 1991
Christian Birmingham, copyright 1995
Bruce Whatley, copyright 1999
Matt Tavares, copyright 2002
Susann Ferris Jones, copyright 2005 (written by Henry Beard, created by John Boswell)
Normally I only purchase the Clement C. Moore version of The Night Before Christmas, but I couldn't resist the illustrations in this one!
Normally I only purchase the Clement C. Moore version of The Night Before Christmas, but I couldn't resist the illustrations in this one!
Tom Newsom, copyright 2008
Okay, now that I've shared the covers of these beautiful books, I'll let you take a peek inside to see the magic that these artists have created while bringing this poem to life! Again, starting with the earliest and working our way forward:
From "An Exact Reprint of An Early Edition":
From "An Exact Reprint of An Early Edition":
From the 1931 Arthur Rackham version:
From the Eleanora Madsen 1940 version:
From the 1949 Corinne Malvern version:
From the 1950 Elizabeth Webbe version:
From the 1960 Gyo Fujikawa version:
From the 1964 Nino Carbe version:
From the 1980 Tomie dePaola version:
From the 1981 Greg & Tim Hilderbrandt version:
From the 1982 Cyndy Szekeres version:
From the 1985 James Marshall version:
From the 1989 Cheryl Harness version:
The amount of detail in this version is incredible!
From the 1989 James Rice version:
From the 1989 John Steven Gurney version:
From the 1991 Jane Chambless version:
From the 1995 Christian Birmingham version:
From the 1999 Bruce Whatley version:
From the 2002 Matt Tavares version:
From the 2005 Cat's Night Before Christmas version:
From the 2008 Tom Newsom version:
So that concludes this year's installment of my collection!!
If you're not all "Twas the night before Christmas'd" out, I shared even more of my collection last December in this post (now you can see why I called it my obsession!!)
Reading this poem has been a part of our Christmas Eve's since the girls were babies. First with me reading it to them, and then as they got older, all of us taking turns reading it. And as the girls have grown, so has my collection! So if you're in the market for a copy of this book, I hope you spotted a version that really spoke to you!!
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"
Donna