The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Robert Ingpen - Book Giveaway + Cotton Ball Santa Beard Countdown Calendar

Did you find your shoes filled with treats yesterday? December 6th marked St. Nicholas Day. While many of us leave stockings out on Christmas Eve, the origins of Santa Claus can be traced back to the real Saint Nicholas, a bishop that lived from 270 to 343 A.D. in what is now Turkey. Bishop Nicholas helped the poor through giving generous gifts and was a miracle worker. Later on, around 1820, the legend of Santa Claus started to become popular. Clement C. Moore's poem, "The Night Before Christmas" helped popularize this familiar figure and the gift giving on Christmas Eve. Time Magazine published an informative two-minute bio of Santa Claus, if you're interested in reading more about St. Nick and Santa. Also, the VeggieTales movie, Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving, is a great way to introduce children to the story of the real Saint Nicholas.

While we don't own a book about the real St. Nicholas, we do own several copies of The Night Before Christmas. Thanks to Sterling Children's Books, we had the chance to read a newly illustrated version of Clement C. Moore's beloved poem.


The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore; illustrated by Robert Ingpen; Sterling (October 2010); ISBN 9781402781827; 48 pages
Book Source: Review copy provided by publisher

For those that celebrate Christmas, owning a copy of The Night Before Christmas is almost a requirement. On Christmas Eve, many people read the poem, in addition to the Biblical story of Jesus' birth. Robert Ingpen's gorgeously illustrated picture book is an excellent interpretation of this familiar poem and makes a wonderful addition to any Christmas book collection.

The incredible paintings in this version balance the fantasy of the story with realism. Ingpen creates a warm, idealized Christmas with highly textured illustrations full of feathery brush strokes and depth. A traditional, classic Santa Claus with a wrinkled, weathered face, full beard, rosy cheeks and fabulous red suit takes center stage in the book. He visits a simple manor house adorned with a tower and several chimneys, a house that could have very well existed at the time the poem was first written. Ingpen's interpretation does not include whimsical touches, like showing sugarplums dancing, but instead the images display the magic of the night in a subdued way.

The book works well as a read-aloud, and is set with an easy-to-read, large font, perfect for low-light environments on Christmas Eve. A short biography of Clement Clarke Moore in the beginning of the book explains the origins of his poem, a story originally intended as a Christmas present for his children. I especially love the well-crafted design and detail displayed in this book. Underneath the dustcover is a bright-red, fabric cover with a simple, classic inset. The endpapers show a starry sky and if you look closely, it almost looks like St. Nick has magically disappeared into the night.

Robert Ingpen has also illustrated several other classics including The Christmas Carol. He's an accomplished Australian author and illustrator and has won several awards for his works.


❖❖❖❖❖❖ Cotton Ball Santa Beard Countdown Calendar ❖❖❖❖❖❖

It's not too late to start counting down to Christmas. My daughter made an adorable Santa Claus out of construction paper. His cotton beard marks the days until Christmas arrives. She started by gluing on 24 cotton balls onto her red-nosed Santa and each day she removes a cotton ball from Santa's beard. I've seen other versions of this craft, but they all usually involve gluing on a cotton ball to mark the days instead of taking one off. I like the idea of removing rather than adding because you don't have to keep a supply of cotton balls and glue handy to use every day.



For other versions of this fun craft, visit the following websites:
Kaboose.com Santa Advent Calendar Craft
First-School.ws Santa Craft Calendar
Oopsey Daisy Santa Beard Countdown with accompanying poem



Sterling Children's Books has graciously offered to giveaway a copy of this lovely, classically styled version of The Night Before Christmas to a Brimful Curiosities reader.

To enter, leave a comment relevant to this post.

• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.
• Contest is open to US
• Contest ends on Wednesday, Dec. 15th, 2010 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random and sent an email notification.

Three ways to gain extra entries (Maximum total entries is 4; please leave a separate comment for each entry):
1st extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.
2nd extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.
3rd extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader

I am an Amazon affiliate and may receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links. (View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)