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The Nights Before Christmas: 24 Classic Stories to Read Aloud
This lavishly produced hardback book is the perfect keepsake gift to treasure. Fully illustrated in color throughout by acclaimed illustrator Tony Ross, The Nights Before Christmas has 24 classic festive tales, songs and stories to read throughout Advent or keep as a family Christmas anthology. There are festive extracts from much-loved books including A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame; yuletide poems ('A Visit from St. Nicholas') and carols ('Good King Wenceslas'), together with traditional tales from Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm. This is the ultimate gift for Christmas.
229 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2014
31 people want to read
About the author
Tony Ross
1,233 books117 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Tony Ross is a British illustrator and author of children's picture books. He was a student at the Liverpool School of Art and Design. Ross has had quite a few occupations, such as cartoonist, graphic designer, art director at an advertising agency, senior lecturer in art and head of the illustration course at Manchester Polytechnic.
Ross won the 1986 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, picture books category, for Ich komm dich holen!, (I'm coming to get you! - Andersen, 1984. He was runner-up for the 1990 Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject, for Dr. Xargle's book of Earth Tiggers.
Meet the illustrator
What is your favourite animal?
A cat
What is your favourite boy’s name?
Bill
What is your favourite girl’s name?
Roxanne
What is your favourite food?
Lobster
What is your favourite music?
Irish
What is your favourite hobby?
Sailing
Tony Ross is a British illustrator and author of children's picture books. He was a student at the Liverpool School of Art and Design. Ross has had quite a few occupations, such as cartoonist, graphic designer, art director at an advertising agency, senior lecturer in art and head of the illustration course at Manchester Polytechnic.
Ross won the 1986 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, picture books category, for Ich komm dich holen!, (I'm coming to get you! - Andersen, 1984. He was runner-up for the 1990 Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject, for Dr. Xargle's book of Earth Tiggers.
Meet the illustrator
What is your favourite animal?
A cat
What is your favourite boy’s name?
Bill
What is your favourite girl’s name?
Roxanne
What is your favourite food?
Lobster
What is your favourite music?
Irish
What is your favourite hobby?
Sailing
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 21, 2025
This book is divided into 24 nights to read aloud not only stories but also poems, carols, letters & excerpts from novels. I only read those that I had not read before or perhaps had forgotten. Most were 5 stars for me related to the message with a few exceptions which I'll annotate. At the end of the book, there are brief synopses of each of the authors & comments about the story which I have used in this review.
The ones I read are as follows:
The Christmas Fairy of Strasbourg A fairy tale from Germany that imagines how the Christmas tree came to be a tradition. 3 stars.
The Fir Tree Hans Christian Anderson. 4stars. It lost a star because of the sad ending. No sad endings at Christmas!!
The next 3 stories highlight charity and kindness.
Papa Panov's Special Christmas retold by Leo Tolstoy. I loved this story inspired by the biblical verse Matthew 25:35. The ending actually gave me the physical reaction of goosebumps!
The Elves and the Shoemaker Brothers Grimm.
Why the Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves Florence Holbrook
The Snow Queen Hans Christian Anderson. Warmth and friendship triumphs over cold and evil. This reminded me of parts of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe .
Professor Branestawm's Christmas Tree Norman Hunter. This story was part of a humorous series of stories featuring Prof. B.
The Selfish Giant Oscar Wilde. Reminiscent of How the Grinch Stole Christmas except with a more religious message.
A Kidnapped Santa Claus L. Frank Baum 4stars.
The Little Match Seller Hans Christian Anderson. Highlights the contrast between those living in poverty with the warmth and magic of the season for those with means. The religious message in this story is about the redemption of the afterlife.
The Story of the Christ-child Elizabeth Harrison. Appropriately the 24th entry. Based on a German folk tale and is about the importance of charity especially at Christmas. This story is in the running as my favorite along with earlier Papa Panov entry.
The ones I read are as follows:
The Christmas Fairy of Strasbourg A fairy tale from Germany that imagines how the Christmas tree came to be a tradition. 3 stars.
The Fir Tree Hans Christian Anderson. 4stars. It lost a star because of the sad ending. No sad endings at Christmas!!
The next 3 stories highlight charity and kindness.
Papa Panov's Special Christmas retold by Leo Tolstoy. I loved this story inspired by the biblical verse Matthew 25:35. The ending actually gave me the physical reaction of goosebumps!
The Elves and the Shoemaker Brothers Grimm.
Why the Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves Florence Holbrook
The Snow Queen Hans Christian Anderson. Warmth and friendship triumphs over cold and evil. This reminded me of parts of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe .
Professor Branestawm's Christmas Tree Norman Hunter. This story was part of a humorous series of stories featuring Prof. B.
The Selfish Giant Oscar Wilde. Reminiscent of How the Grinch Stole Christmas except with a more religious message.
A Kidnapped Santa Claus L. Frank Baum 4stars.
The Little Match Seller Hans Christian Anderson. Highlights the contrast between those living in poverty with the warmth and magic of the season for those with means. The religious message in this story is about the redemption of the afterlife.
The Story of the Christ-child Elizabeth Harrison. Appropriately the 24th entry. Based on a German folk tale and is about the importance of charity especially at Christmas. This story is in the running as my favorite along with earlier Papa Panov entry.
December 10, 2024
Excerpts from all the classic stories and songs and poems of Christmas are in this little volume, including The Snow Queen, The Selfish Giant, The Little Match-Seller, The Wind in the Willows, Little Women, A Christmas Carol, Professor Branestawm, and The Nativity, all illustrated in that lovely way that only Tony Ross can.
January 12, 2022
I decided that this Christmas as well as all the family favourites, I wanted to add some new. This book includes 24 stories, songs and rhymes. As well as some classics, it is filled with some lesser known tales.
- A visit from St. Nicholas, The Christmas Fairy of Strasbourg, The Fir Tree, The Nativity, Papa Panov’s Special Christmas, Good King Wenceslas, The Elves and the Shoemaker, an extract from A Christmas Carol, Why the ever green trees never lost their leaves, the Christmas truce, A kidnapped Santa Claus, The little match seller, In the week when Christmas comes.……
A lovely collection for the whole family to enjoy with beautiful illustrations by Tony Ross. It also includes About the authors and stories at the end of the book which is a lovely touch.
Christmas is a great time to share stories and this book is ideal for reading aloud to the whole family. I think this is a prefect collection, some I have never read, capturing various aspects of the season and telling of the true meaning of Christmas spirit!
A book to treasure and bring out on the first of December every year! A perfect way to count down to Christmas.
- A visit from St. Nicholas, The Christmas Fairy of Strasbourg, The Fir Tree, The Nativity, Papa Panov’s Special Christmas, Good King Wenceslas, The Elves and the Shoemaker, an extract from A Christmas Carol, Why the ever green trees never lost their leaves, the Christmas truce, A kidnapped Santa Claus, The little match seller, In the week when Christmas comes.……
A lovely collection for the whole family to enjoy with beautiful illustrations by Tony Ross. It also includes About the authors and stories at the end of the book which is a lovely touch.
Christmas is a great time to share stories and this book is ideal for reading aloud to the whole family. I think this is a prefect collection, some I have never read, capturing various aspects of the season and telling of the true meaning of Christmas spirit!
A book to treasure and bring out on the first of December every year! A perfect way to count down to Christmas.
January 4, 2023
Dacă tot mi-am propus ca-n luna decembrie să citesc cât mai multe titluri legate de sărbătoarea Crăciunului și a iernii, în general, cum altfel să încep dacă nu cu “Nopțile dinaintea Crăciunului”?
Volumul este o carte-advent, dacă o pot numi așa, întrucât cuprinde 24 de povești clasice potrivite pentru cei mici, dar și pentru cei mari, de la basme la poeme, toate semnate de autori cunoscuți și îndrăgiți, printre aceștia fiind Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Dickens, Frații Grimm, Louisa May Alcott, Oscar Wilde, Lev Tolstoi, Mark Twain, dar și mulți alții. Fie sunt basmele clasice, fie repovestite, poveștile sunt menite să te poarte pe meleaguri magice, unde să-l întâlnești pe Mos Crăciun, Scrooge și Crăiasa Zăpezii, dar să îți încrucișezi drumul și cu zâne sau elfi.
Fiecare poveste în parte vine însotita de ilustratii reprezentative, care-ti aduc un zâmbet pe chip si caldura în suflet, te determina sa te cuibaresti sub paturica, sa pornesti colindele si sa privesti bradutul cum lumineaza, dar parca te imbie si la o bataie cu bulgari de zapada si la facut ingeri de zapada 🥰, sa te bucuri pe deplin de frumusetea iernii si de iubirea ce înconjoara sarbatoarea Craciunul.
Este volumul perfect de a fi citit in aceasta perioada si va indemn sa-l aduceti sub bradutul vostru, chiar daca deja a inceput decembrie 🙈. Daca nu-l cititi anul acesta, se poate citi si-n anii urmatori, merita atentia voastra 🥰, îl gasiti la @treibooks ❤️.
Volumul este o carte-advent, dacă o pot numi așa, întrucât cuprinde 24 de povești clasice potrivite pentru cei mici, dar și pentru cei mari, de la basme la poeme, toate semnate de autori cunoscuți și îndrăgiți, printre aceștia fiind Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Dickens, Frații Grimm, Louisa May Alcott, Oscar Wilde, Lev Tolstoi, Mark Twain, dar și mulți alții. Fie sunt basmele clasice, fie repovestite, poveștile sunt menite să te poarte pe meleaguri magice, unde să-l întâlnești pe Mos Crăciun, Scrooge și Crăiasa Zăpezii, dar să îți încrucișezi drumul și cu zâne sau elfi.
Fiecare poveste în parte vine însotita de ilustratii reprezentative, care-ti aduc un zâmbet pe chip si caldura în suflet, te determina sa te cuibaresti sub paturica, sa pornesti colindele si sa privesti bradutul cum lumineaza, dar parca te imbie si la o bataie cu bulgari de zapada si la facut ingeri de zapada 🥰, sa te bucuri pe deplin de frumusetea iernii si de iubirea ce înconjoara sarbatoarea Craciunul.
Este volumul perfect de a fi citit in aceasta perioada si va indemn sa-l aduceti sub bradutul vostru, chiar daca deja a inceput decembrie 🙈. Daca nu-l cititi anul acesta, se poate citi si-n anii urmatori, merita atentia voastra 🥰, îl gasiti la @treibooks ❤️.
December 26, 2021
Cute stories. We didn't get through all of them; we'll pick it back up next Christmas.
January 1, 2025
A wonderful collection of Christmas stories to read with your children in the nights leading up to Christmas.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews