'twas The Night Before Christmas: Or Account Of A Visit From St. Nicholas

“Lushly textured pencil drawings capture the mystery, surprise, and anticipation of . . . the most magical night of the year.” — Publishers Weekly

Once upon a time, children imagined St. Nicholas as a stern, skinny bishop who was as likely to dole out discipline as Christmas presents. But thanks to the anonymous publication of the poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” in the Troy Sentinal in 1823, a plumper, merrier St. Nick was born, transformed into the sleigh-riding, chimney-diving, jolly old elf we now call Santa Claus. Complemented by gorgeous monochrome illustrations that are meticulously true to pre-Victorian times, this definitive volume of ‘‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, honoring the poem’’s original language, is available in a compact gift edition.