The night before Christmas, deep under the sea

Kathie Kelleher

Book - 2012

The classic poem is retold as a tale from under the sea.

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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York : Holiday House c2012.
Language
English
Main Author
Kathie Kelleher (-)
Edition
1st ed
Physical Description
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 27 cm
ISBN
9780823423361
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this undersea interpretation of Clement Clarke Moore's Christmas staple, a googly-eyed lobster narrates, as a pipe-smoking walrus Santa descends to deliver presents in a conch shell sleigh pulled by seahorses. Kelleher's (illustrator of Stuck on the Presidents) narrative sometimes pushes the undersea theme a bit too far, as when the lobster awakens aboard a wrecked ship: "Up to the porthole I swam like a shark;/ I tore back the seaweed then peered through the dark./ The moon shells they glimmered like pearls from the glow/ Of luminescent jellyfish gliding below." A mix of digital and oil painting, Andreasen's (The Hand-Me-Down Doll) cartoons are unfailingly cheerful, creating a friendly underwater environment. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 1-An underwater version of the Christmas poem with a tusked-walrus Santa and a lobster observer of the magical visitor "Decked out in red rubber from his toes to his collar." Santa's conch-shell sleigh is pulled by eight lively sea horses. The vibrant candy-colored illustrations, created using digital underpainting combined with traditional oil painting, have an antic cartoon charm that adds energy to the sometimes belabored adaptation. This one is only for those who cherish the sea; fans of Ariel and Sponge Bob may enjoy the gentle humor.-Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

An amusing parody of "The Night Before Christmas," set in an underwater world with marine life filling the familiar roles of family members and Santa. The story is narrated by a jolly lobster with expressively bulgy eyes, and instead of children "nestled all snug in their beds," readers meet mermaids with "visions of periwinkles" swimming though their heads. Rather than "the moon on the crest of the new-fallen snow," our lobster narrator proclaims, "The moon shells they glimmered like pearls from the glow / Of luminescent jellyfish gliding below." The perfectly rhymed text is full of rich vocabulary and closely follows the original text as Santa arrives at the lobster's underwater shipwreck home to deliver his Christmas gifts. This Santa Claus is a blue walrus in a red rubber suit commanding a conch-shell sleigh pulled by sea horses with names like Limpet and Quahog. Humorous, double-pagespread illustrations were created by combining oil paintings with digital enhancements to create the subtle layered look of the deep sea, and sparkly highlights provide an effervescent accent to underwater bubbles and the title words on the cover. A clever and creative parody of the old holiday chestnut. (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.