Jan Brett The Night Before Christmas: What You Need to Know Before Buying
I've spent more time with this book than I probably should have, mostly because parents keep asking me about it and I end up giving honest answers. Jan Brett's version of "The Night Before Christmas" is not the same thing you grew up with. It's not Clement Clarke Moore's original text set against sparse illustrations or something generic from a big-budget publisher. Brett rewrote large portions of the poem and surrounded it with her signature border art, which means the reading experience is completely different from the classic. Most people who buy this book expecting the original poem end up confused. The text is adapted. Brett changes several lines, shifts the setting from a generic snowy town to a more European-style village, and adds her own narrative flourishes throughout. Some people hate this. I don't find it a problem if you're approaching it as a different book entirely, but you should know what you're getting into before you hand it to a kid who already knows the original by heart. The real value here is in the illustrations. Brett's borders around each spread contain their own mini-stories. While the main page shows the familiar events of the poem, the borders follow various animals as they go about their own nighttime activities. There's a mouse family moving furniture, birds discussing the weather, a badger checking on his hibernation supplies. It gives kids something else to look at while you read, and it rewards repeated readings because you can spot new details every time.
I ran into a specific issue once when a parent brought me this book after their child became fixated on the border animals and stopped listening to the actual poem. The kid was spending five minutes on each spread just pointing out creatures in the margins. The workaround was simple: I told the parent to read the poem through first, covering the borders with their hand or a piece of paper until the reading was complete, then let the kid explore the details afterward. This preserved the rhythm of the story while still giving access to the artwork. It took about three readings before the child settled into a normal pace. The illustration style itself is worth noting if you're particular about that sort of thing. Brett uses tempera and pencil on Arches watercolor paper, which gives the images a textured, almost tapestry-like quality. Her color palette leans heavily toward warm reds, deep greens, and golden yellows, even in night scenes. Some people find this too bright for a bedtime story. I think it works fine, but I've seen toddlers get more energized than usual after reading this version, likely because the colors are so saturated and cheerful compared to the typical dark blues and blacks you'd expect from a Christmas night story.
Where to Get It
The book is published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and most major book retailers. The standard edition is a hardcover with approximately 32 pages. There's also an audio version featuring narration that syncs to the pages, and a board book edition for younger children. The audio version is decent but not necessary. The book reads fine on its own, and the narration can actually compete with the detail in the illustrations if the child is looking at the pages while it plays. I should mention that there are older editions and newer printings with slightly different formatting. The 1998 first edition has a different jacket design than the current ones, but the interior content is essentially the same. Don't overthink which edition you buy unless you're a collector. The content hasn't changed between printings in any meaningful way. If you're looking for the original Clement Clarke Moore text without adaptations, Jan Brett is not your version. Look for editions illustrated by someone like Trina Schart Hyman or the classic 19th-century engravings if that's what you want. Brett's version is a reimagining, and it's good at what it is, but it's not a replacement for the traditional text.
Get the Full Details
The book typically runs between $17 and $22 depending on the retailer and format. The audio version and special editions can push higher. I wouldn't pay more than $25 for the hardcover unless it's a signed copy, in which case the pricing is entirely separate from the book's actual content quality. One thing worth considering is whether this book fits your household's reading style. If you read quickly and move through stories in one sitting, the border details might slow you down more than they help. If you tend to linger on books and reread them over weeks or months, this one pays off significantly. The artwork rewards patience in a way that most children's books don't, but only if you're willing to give it that patience. A single rushed reading will make this feel like an ordinary holiday book at best.
