The Night Before Christmas

Title: The Night Before Christmas

Author: Clement Clarke Moore

Illustrator: Robert Sabuda

Genre: Paper Engineered

Awards: None

Age Group: Pre-K—3rd

The Night Before Christmas is a pop-up version of Clement Clarke Moore's original Christmas poem. The words are brought to life through Robert Sabuda's amazing artistic ability, and the tale of St. Nicholas literally bursts out of the pages. The story begins on Christmas Eve when all the children are tucked into bed awaiting a visit from St. Nicholas. One eager child looks out the window to see Santa and his reindeer soaring through the air. All of a sudden, they stop on the roof, and who comes down the chimney but St. Nick! The child watched him as he filled all of the stockings and went back up the chimney. The last that he hears of Santa is, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

I would definitely use this book in my classroom! It is such a fun way to incorporate Christmas and poetry in the classroom, as it is a new and creative twist on a classic Christmas tale. This book is automatically engaging for students but still provides the opportunity to learn.

I would recommend this book for Pre-K through 3rd grade, although I am sure that kids even older would appreciate this pop-up book. I know the students will be mesmerized by the incredible detail throughout and will enjoy this very festive poem. 

To go along with The Night Before Christmas, I would first have students review the vocabulary in this book that they may not be too familiar with. Some examples include "'twas", "stirring", "nestled", "kerchief", "clatter", "luster", "lively", "coursers", "bound", "tarnished", "peddler", "droll", "thistle", and "ere". 

For a little "craftivity", students could create a flip-book in the shape of Santa's head made out of construction paper. He will have multiple beards that, when attached and secured, can flip up to reveal a picture drawn on the beard below. Students can draw illustrations of the main events of the book.