cover image The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas

Clement C. Moore, illus. by David Ercolini. Scholastic/Orchard, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-545-39112-2

Little does Santa know that, in Ercolini’s zippy spin on this holiday poem, he’ll be disembarking at the home of a family of Christmas superfans. Not a creature is stirring, but the house is utterly crammed with decorations. Colored lights adorn the house and the trees in the yard, while ornaments hang from every surface imaginable indoors: the tree, sure, but also the bannister, beds, and walls. And when Santa lands on the roof, he’s dwarfed by a massive inflatable version of himself—naturally he uses the opportunity to take a photo with his reindeer, who are dressed in outrageously dorky costumes as a cowboy, daredevil, and more. The text sticks to the traditional, but readers will be hooting over the hilarious details in Ercolini’s borderline manic cartoons. Ages 3–5. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Sept.)