Anyone reading this blog (I know one can read a blog without "following" the author, so I enjoy being delusional, believing I have millions of readers with only three followers) will know that I have been highlighting all sorts of books in this holiday season. It's my own holiday gift recommendation service.
Today, I want to highlight a number of versions of
The Night Before Christmas which we have (while quantities last). Jan Brett is a popular illustrator of children's stories with a very distinct style. However, we can' leave a story alone, so just like every recording artist wants to record Christmas songs, so many illustrators want a chance to re-tell Clement C. Moore's poem through their drawings. (With regards to the poem itself, authenticity boils down to whether Santa flies off saying the traditional "Happy Christmas to All," or American editors opt for the less confusing "Merry Christmas to All, And to All, a Good Night.")
For the younger celebrant, there is a board book with old-fashioned drawings by Christian Birmingham sure to appeal to the adult reader. The .gif or .jpg image does not do justice to the small size of the sturdy volume.
Domtar, a paper producing company which is promoting its product -- paper -- in a general sense, along with promoting the company itself in a website called
www.paperbecause.com. Those are the keys to marketing: promote the general category and then, propose that one's own brand is best in class. I think I learned that before my Boston College graduate Marketing class, probably from reading books by J. Walter Thompson ad agency executives. But, I digress...
Something you would never find in an electronic book is cut-outs and pop-ups, such as you would with this version of
The Night Before Christmas by Niroot Puttapipat, which has both. I believe Niroot Puttapipat would be what is called a "paper engineer," although "illustrator" would work nicely also. There are cut-outs, but the illustrations are reminiscent of black paper constructions and the finale pop-up is a fragile culmination of the black paper cut-outs.
And then, there is the one with a CD by Peter, Paul & Mary -- Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey and the late Mary Travers, that is. This gorgeously but playfully illustrated book (by Eric Puybaret) is accompanied by a
specially created three-track musical and narrative CD featuring Moore's tale set to music by Noel Paul Stookey, an reading by Mary Travers over a special score composed by Peter Yarrow with Peter and Paul joining Mary one last time in her final performance, plus the classic Peter, Paul & Mary holiday favorite, "A' Soalin." This is a treasure to be obtained, held, shared and passed down through the generations. Try getting this at the iTunes store.
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