A Creature Was Stirring

by Carter Goodrich (Illustrator), Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, and in this great house the creature who stirred was a boy, not a mouse.

And while upstairs his parents were dreaming and snoring, with Santa so close, sleep seemed pretty boring.

Esteemed New Yorker cover artist Carter Goodrich retells the story of 'Twas the night before Christmas from the child's point of view.

With Clement Clarke Moore's classic poem one one side of every page, and a child's comedic rhyming on the other, this magical book about seeing and dreaming of Santa Claus will inspire readers of all ages to believe.

Against a luminous backdrop of midnight and silver, memories of Christmases past and present converge in a modern classic born in the tradition of The Polar Express.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Poetry, Fiction, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2006

About the author

Carter Goodrich has illustrated sixteen New Yorker covers and was the lead character designer for Despicable Me. He has designed characters for many other beloved animated films, including Brave, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc, Open Season, and Ratatouille, for which he won the International Animated Film Society’s Annie Award for character design. A Rhode Island School of Design graduate, he has twice been awarded the gold medal from the Society of Illustrators in New York. His other picture books include Say Hello to Zorro!, A Creature Was Stirring, and The Hermit Crab.

Reviews

[Sara]

3.5 Stars

*SPOILERS*

Beautifully exquisite illustrations and while the rhyming was clever, it wasn't based on anything unknown. All of it was familiar and it really only just had a boy awake on Christmas Eve, waiting for Santa even though he knew it wasn't allowed and he'd be put on the naughty list for it. He sneaks peeks (and even a reindeer/sleigh ride due to it's precarious position on a slope of the roof,) thinking St Nicholas can't sense it but he seemingly does at the end, so he can blow his cover

[Mary]

Each 2-page spread has Clement C. Moore's words on one side and Goodrich's on the other. When Goodrich's words as read sequentially, as a whole, they go together better than when read interspersed with Moore's.
The similar illustration style for both parts does pull the 2 stories together and the humor suits both.

[Dana]

This book should belong to every household Christmas library. I introduced this book to my principal and he and a fellow colleague pair-read it to our staff during our holiday breakfast. Two stories run simultaneously side-by-side throughout the book. Humor delivers a young boy’s universal dilemma on Christmas Eve.

[Rose Rosetree]

Oh my goodness!

The artist here is a New Yorker cover illustrator. That means, to my thinking, Carter Goodrich is among the best of the best. And this picture book doesn't disappoing.

The words here alternate between very relatable commentary from the little boy, the "Creature" who was stirring, and excerpts from Clement C. Moore's classic poem.

FIVE STARS of delight!

[Lori]

What a good little laugh.

[Amber]

Such a cute concept, but don’t like that the words “gosh” and “stupid” were used in this book.

[Maureen]

cute idea--the original poem is on left pages, and a story about a little boy who is awake when Santa comes is on the right.

[Kayla]

Such a fun sweet book—a fresh take on the old poem.

[Kelly]

The concept was creative but didn't work (and the gold font was impossible to read).

[Sarah Limb]

For the most part this book is absolutely amazing!! I really enjoyed it. But sometimes that rhymes were so wonky.

[Marsha]

I’ve seen countless literary renditions of Clement Clarke Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas (some of them even manage to get the title right). So for one of those to pique my interest, it has to have something special: riveting illustrations and/or a stunning cover or a unique twist in the storyline. The latter features in this tale, as we have one observer who breaks the rules about staying asleep during Santa’s fateful visit.

But wait a sec! The original poem featured someone who was wide awake as well! But that was presumably a grownup that was awakened by a dreadful noise coming from the lawn. This wakeful watcher is a nervous little boy who doesn’t want Santa to catch him up and about from his bed. The new rhymes run on opposite pages of the original verse as the kid tries vainly to get to sleep, worried that the fat man in the red suit will put him on the “naughty” list. It’s a gentle, winking tribute to Moore’s original poem as the plucky young lad manages to redeem himself and, yes, save Christmas.

The illustrations are charming, softly rendered with the pencil marks prominent. There is no attempt at photorealism here—the artist knows how to make a little look like a lot. (The reindeer could be moose, deer or elk with stick-like antlers stuck on them.) The Santa has an old-fashioned appearance with a pointy cap and cape and a sly look that really does make him look rather elfin in nature.

This loving homage to a Christmas classic is sure to please boys and girls, especially those who don’t get sugarplums dancing in their heads (and who dreams about those, anyway?).

[Rosa Cline]

This was a very neatly written book. It takes the traditional "Twas the Night before Christmas' and then puts a 'twist' on it with a little boy not going to sleep and worrying about beign put on the naughty list and then sneaking out and getting into Santa's sled. All written in 'rhyme' and nicely done illustrations are great as well.

BUT the amazing thing about this book is you can read the left pages only and read the entire original 'Twas the Night Before Christmas story; or you can read the right pages and it's a story within itself talking about the little boy. Or read the book like you would an ordinary book (as I did for my 4 year old granddaughter) and read left page and then the right and the stories mix together as a regular story.

[Luisa Knight]

Ages: 4 - 8

Cleanliness: "My gosh" "gosh" and "stupid" are exclaimed.

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[Relyn]

What a fun twist on an old holiday classic. My students are going to love this one.

Classroom Connections
- Every year one of my Christmas gifts to my students is to read them at least one extra (Christmas) story book per day. Extra read aloud - yay. This one will be terrific for that.
- Use for compare/ contrast with younger students with Moore's version.
- Use in Writer's Workshop as an example of fracturing more than fairy tales.
- Use in Writer's Workshop as an Christmas story starter/ example. Have each child write their own Night Before Christmas.

[Kate McCartney]

I was really looking forward to reading this to my kids on Christmas Eve, I really wanted to like it. It was meh. The author mixes the original Clement Moore with an adapted version f a boy who couldn't fall asleep. It just didn't mesh for me. I think I would have just like the adapted version, with maybe a few lines of the original. This version just felt to crowded to me. The illustration are really nice though.

[Dolly]

Framed by Clement C. Moore's famous poem, this is an account of a little boy who finds himself in the predicament of being awake on Christmas Eve, hearing Santa arrive at his house. It's a fun story and juxtaposed with the classic poem, it's a clever way to show the story from a different perspective. Our girls enjoyed this story; it's a good one to read aloud.

[Mary]

Lovely illustrations, but not a great variation on the original Christmas classic. The premise is intriguing, (a child acknowledges that he IS awake and stirring as he awaits Santa's arrival.) But the ending is not satisfying. The child seems to save the sleigh from slipping off his home's roof. But how do the reindeer and Santa respond? The book does not say. Also the rhymes seem a bit forced.

[Miss Erica]

GR Level ?

Elementary: E GOO

They say that not a creature was stirring, but this poor boy never actually got to the part where the sugar-plums were dancing. Find out who is sneaking around and what he does to help Santa.

[Nanci Booher]

Carter Goodrich, author of Say Hello to Zorro and Zorro Gets an Outfit, is rapidly becoming someone I will always read. A new fun twist on the the classic The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore with rhyming text and great illustrations. This will be added to my collection at home.

[Mary]

I had to read this book, because I have so enjoyed the Zorro and Mister Bud books. Carter Goodrich has also written this kid's take on Clement C. Moore's Christmas poem - when the boy can't sleep and "accidentally'" sees Santa. This may put him on the naughty list. A funny story.

[Danielle Nicholson]

OMG! This is for sure a book that EVERY parent MUST read to their kids. CTHU! This was just way too cute. I think this year for Christmas I'll be getting several extra copies and giving them as gifts!

[Amynicole]

eh. I'm such a visual personand these drawings were nothing pleasing. i really disliked that the boy called himself "stupid" and that santa smoked a piped. my son even said he didn't look like santa. thumbs down.

[Autumn]

I love the short happy Santa in this book! The two different styles used work really well. It's a really cute book.

[Karen]

Simply awesome! Enjoy!

[Carrie]

Santa came to the library and my co-worker and I read this book aloud together. It's a cute spin on The Night Before Christmas - good for 2 voices.

[Jen]

This was a fun surprise. The book is beautiful with a cute story that runs along the famous classic by Clement C. Moore.

[Kathy]

A cute adaptation of A Night Before Christmas. A small boy isn't asleep when Santa comes.

[Melanie]

This was a cute little story and I enjoyed the illustrations.

[Amanda]

Eruption of smiles + belly laughs tonight reading this story blended with the "'Twas the night before Christmas" story... A brilliant twist on a well-loved classic!

[Marcie]

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