The Night Before Christmas by Tony Mitton and Layn Marlow
| The Night Before Christmas by Tony Mitton and Layn Marlow | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Luci Davin
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| Summary: Cute board book with attractive illustrations, but its appeal is seasonally limited and it doesn't really stand out from the crowd. | |
| Buy? No | Borrow? Maybe |
| Pages: 26 | Date: October 2010 |
| Publisher: Orchard Books | |
| ISBN: 978-1408309223 | |
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This book is an update on the 19th century poem Twas the Night Before Christmas, written by children's poet Tony Mitton with pictures by Layn Marlow.
The original poem is from the viewpoint of a father who meets Santa Claus. This version is told by one of the two children who sneak out of bed when they hear Father Christmas coming. Like the original, it's written in rhyming verse, but the words are simpler than in the original and the words and pictures are modern ones, targeted at young children in the 21st century.
The book tells a little story set on Christmas Eve which children may enjoy in the excitement of the pre-Christmas run up. It's a board book but with a longer story which can be read to older children, which is a useful combination when needing to please children of different ages. The pictures show lots of Christmassy scenes which the kids might enjoy looking out. It's a pleasant enough little book but it doesn't stand out from the crowd. It hasn't really caught the kids' imagination as lots of other books have.
We will probably read this a few times in the next few weeks if Danny (3) wants to talk about Christmas, but it will seem a bit irrelevant for at least 9 months of the year. Lots of our favourite series such as those about Harry and the Dinosaurs, Kipper and Mog the Forgetful Cat include a story about how their characters celebrate Christmas. Two which you may well have to read all the year round are Merry Christmas, Blue Kangaroo! by Emma Chichester-Clark and Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Otherwise, look for this and other Christmas titles in the library.
Thank you to Orchard Books for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
Two of Tony Mitton's many other picture books reviewed here are Sir Laughalot and A Very Curious Bear.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Night Before Christmas by Tony Mitton and Layn Marlow at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Night Before Christmas by Tony Mitton and Layn Marlow at Amazon.com.
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