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December 01, 2006
Christmas Eve Cage Match: Poetry Friday
A wink of an eye
and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know
I had nothing to dread…
-“A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement C. Moore
Everyone, including some of children’s literature’s biggest names, has been illustrating this poem in picture book form. Who’s done it the best? Who’s just trying to make an easy buck? Let’s find out….
A Visit from St. Nicholas, illustrated by Paul Galdone
WPL’s copy of this is ancient. It doesn’t have a date stamp on it, but I swear it must be an original or close to it. It has very clearly been well-loved, and why not? The illustrations are darling – sweet the way they should be for this poem. I love the old-fashioned toys that appear on the cover and under the tree (ignoring the clown, ignoring the clown…), and talk about cute: Look at the little mouse running away with a stocking! An orange kitty curled up in an armchair! Even Santa truly seems like the harmless old chap he’s purported to be. And this is the only version I’m reviewing today that uses the true title of the poem. Five candy canes, Paul. Nicely done!
The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Tomie DePaola
DePaola runs a quilt motif throughout the artwork for this version, which I think has its plusses and minuses. On the plus side, quilts are homey and help give an old-fashioned feel to an old-fashioned poem. On the minus side, the illustrations are a little angular and, on occasion, weirdly formal. The formality could be said to reflect the formality of the verse, but I’m not sure it works in some of the indoor scenes. On the flip side again, I love the exterior shots of Santa and his reindeer on the roof and in the sky (and these are the cutest reindeer I’ve seen today). The night is stark and a little beautiful; it feels like winter. DePaola hasn’t totally won me here, but I like it. Four candy canes.
The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by James Marshall
James Marshall put a striped cat on the cover. Actually, there’s at least one cat on almost every page. I like that in a book. But however appealing I find Marshall’s illustrations on an average day, the art that makes George & Martha and The Stupids come to life doesn’t exactly work with this poem. Taken by themselves, the illustrations are fun. Taken by itself, the text is…. Well, let’s face it, the Moore poem is a bit maudlin. And in the case of this book, one of these things is just not like the other. I love you, James, but I’m afraid I can only give this one three candy canes.
The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Jan Brett
Brett is kind of the Queen of Winter, so this text is pretty much made for her. She uses vibrant reds, blues, and greens throughout the illustrations that are visually arresting and create continuity. (And what brilliant designer decided to echo that perfect blue on the endpapers? Smart, smart, smart.) While the smallest children will find themselves absorbed in those big, bold swatches of color, younger readers and listeners will get caught up in Brett’s wonderful details (clue: wind-up hedgehog!). Even I want to play with the toys. On the one hand, Brett does the same sort of thing over and over; on the other, she does what she does so very well. A winner. Four and a half candy canes.
The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
Before I went out looking for all of the library’s copies of this poem, I was already familiar with Tasha Tudor’s 1999 effort, but imagine my surprise when I found a version from 1975 right in my own picture book collection. Both are charming. The 1975 version features mostly black-and-white line drawings with occasional two-page color spreads. The illustrations are rich with detail, as we’d expect from Tudor, and her country setting works, literally and figuratively. Outside the house, owls seem to pitch in, flying along with Santa and his reindeer while other little critters look on. Inside, the household pets get in on the act. The 1999 version features watercolor illustrations that echo the earlier work while still being different enough that I feel like I want both versions in my collection. The cat isn’t as cute in the newer version – and, honestly, doesn’t this poem BEG for a few line drawings, anyway? – but that’s a quibble. The illustrations are circles perfectly framed by the snowy night, glimpses into a story that seems to be happening in one place at one moment but is really happening everywhere all night. Far be it from me to argue with Tasha Tudor. Five candy canes for both with a side of eggnog and splash of rum. After all, it’s Christmas.
[Kelly's doing the Poetry Friday roundup over at Big A little a.]
Posted by adrienne at December 1, 2006 11:05 AM
Comments
A well-deserved term I rarely use: BRILLIANT!!! Don't forget the nutmeg on the rum-tinged eggnog for Tasha (my favorite illustrator of all time, ever since Little Princess and Secret Garden)!
Posted by: Marcia at December 1, 2006 11:40 AM
"(ignoring the clown, ignoring the clown...)"
Seltzer on keyboard.
Posted by: Nancy at December 1, 2006 01:36 PM
I'm having visions of Tasha Tudor pulling a half-nelson on James Marshall, and it's freaking me out.
Thanks for an excellent post. Have you seen "A Creature Was Stirring," by Moore & Carter Goodrich?
Posted by: eisha at December 1, 2006 09:16 PM
I suppose the Quentin Blake version is out of print, but it was charming.
Posted by: web at December 2, 2006 01:47 AM
:)
We don't even have the Quentin Blake in our library system, which is very depressing.
The Goodrich, however, is in the system and I haven't seen it, so I'm putting it on hold....
And please don't think I didn't spend part of the morning yesterday using my best pro-wrestling voice to tell people that they should read my blog.
Posted by: adrienne at December 2, 2006 09:45 AM