A CREATURE WAS STIRRING

The familiar verses of “The Night before Christmas” are set in shiny gold letters on the left-hand pages of this atmospheric interpretation of the holiday classic, while Goodrich’s rhymed quatrains set in a modern typeface serve as a counterpoint on facing right-hand pages. The creature who is stirring in this household is an earnest little boy in star-spangled pajamas, watching out the window for Santa’s arrival. Those who are already familiar with Clement Clark Moore’s original will best understand this juxtaposition of traditional text and corresponding action with the little boy’s story. While Santa is delivering the gifts in the living room, the little boy climbs up to the snow-covered roof to help secure the slipping sleigh, with this good deed offsetting the boy’s “naughty” behavior of staying up to see Santa. Goodrich’s arresting illustrations effectively capture the shadowy blue-and-gray tones of the darkened household and the glowing midnight blue of the outdoor scenes, infused with reflected light from the surrounding snow. The illustrations are spectacular, but these original verses in casual, modern phraseology can’t hold a candle to Moore’s tried-and-true cadences. (Picture book. 4-8)