The Mouse Before Christmas

by Michael Garland

Racing over bridges and castles, flying above lakes and rivers, and circling the Earth in the thrilling embrace of Santa's swift sleigh, Mouse's wish to catch a peek at the jolly old man comes true, in this charming fantasy adventure. Reprint.

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

Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

Author and illustrator Michael Garland was born in Manhattan in 1952. He studied art at Pratt Institute and soon after graduating, he sold his first illustration to True Confessions magazine. He has written or illustrated over 40 books.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In case anyone wants a lovely Christmas Eve read for their littles.

First read to mine the year my youngest was born and read every year after until they stopped asking for it. Was such a beloved tradition in our house, they could recite it word for word🐭

Beautifully illustrated and a lovely Christmas rhyming story of a little mouse who encounters both Santa and a glimpse at the world as well🎅🏼

Our copy still sits a bit dog eared on the shelf and would highly recommend to all the would want to check this little mouse out before Christmas!✨

[Ailish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! So festive and I love the cute little mouse! The pictures are beautiful and of course I loved the rhyming. I think this will be a favourite of mine at Christmas time 🎄🎅

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written to the rythmn of The Night Before Christmas, this story chronicles the adventures of a small mouse that sneaks into Santa's pack and is able to travel around the world with Santa.

We loved the illustration that shows him traveling past the Sphinx, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty... (My four year old is proud to tell anyone that will listen to her that the Eiffel Tower is in Paris, France...and my older two loved this page just as much).
"Mouse had never imagined a world so wide;
He lost count of the wonders he'd seen on this ride-
Crossing cities and countries, over desert and sea,
Past the sphinx and two towers and Miss Liberty."

The rhymes/rhythms work well. It imitates the original closely enough that the lines never felt awkward, but still tells a unique story.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm typically wary of rhyming books, because often the rhymes aren't that good. I was pleasantly surprised here, and Garland kept to the pace of the original story/rhyme quite well indeed! This story centers around a cute little mouse who IS stirring on Christmas Eve in its hopes to see Santa (cute take on the traditional tale).

I enjoyed these warm and happy illustrations and was pleased to see the illustrations of various different cities around the world. Also, yay! Santa is quite nice and jolly in this book!

If you happen to run across this book, I'd definitely suggest picking it up and perusing it :)

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute story about a little mouse who is curious about Santa and climbs into his sack while Santa is distributing gifts--whoops! little mouse gets whisked away with the sack into the sleigh! Kindly Santa helps little mouse enjoy the journey as they fly around the world distributing gifts. While computer-generated images don't tend to be my favorite illustrations, I thought their vibrancy worked for this story and they are actually rather cute. Also, the rhyme scheme works well for the story and there is a nice warmth to the text.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was super adorable. My children loved the story line, and I enjoyed the sweet twist on a classic Christmas story. It is one of our 12 days of Christmas books that we read. I will definitely rotate back into the line up in a year or so. (We try to rotate Christmas stories 😉)

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really cute book!

[brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our favorite Christmas book!

[The Transmuted Tree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red 9th

[Cindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable, cute, beautiful art, fun story

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was growing up, beside the Biblical account of Jesus' birth, two books were read in our house every Christmas Eve: The Night Before Christmas and Santa Mouse. I think Michael Garland grew up with the same two stories.

The Mouse Before Christmas feels like a loving homage to both Christmas classics. It also feels like a fresh, new tale (pun slightly intended). It is charming and sweet, lyrically perfect, and just the right length for Christmas Eve reading.

Michael Garland's illustrations are also charming and sweet. His Santa Claus has the kindest eyes I've ever seen in illustration. And the world tour is stunningly beautiful.

[Demi Purdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute little Christmas book that I read with my reading buddy at our last meeting. In this book, a mouse accidentally ends up in Santa's bag, and he ends up being taken to many different places as Santa continues to deliver the gifts to all the children of the world. Santa later discovers the mouse and takes him back home. This book got its rating as I thought it was cute a good read for kids. The book goes under poetry because it is written entirely in rhyme, but what would you expect out of a Christmas themed book? Especially one for kids?

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mouse has only one wish this Christmas Eve--to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus. This charming fantasy evokes the magic of being carried aloft in the wintry night sky, circling the Earth in the thrilling embrace of Santa's swift sleigh. Readers are carried along with Mouse on a whirlwind tour of the world's monuments and sights as Santa delivers gifts to children everywhere.

Kids loved it and it was fun identifying the places Santa went. I love the pictures.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute book! Someone in the class reccommended this book to me, and I really enjoyed it. I loved it because it showed how kind Santa Claus was to all creatures, even as small as a mouse. Santa went out of his way to be kind to the mouse, and to take him on his journey all across the world. At the end of the book, Santa gave the mouse his very own santa hat. The book taught that everyone has a wish and dreams and want to be recognized, no matter how small.

[Willie Butts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because of the rhyming of the story it makes it very easy to read for children of all ages. I think that children would love to read this age old story with a twist. The author did a great job of showing and explaining the different places around the world that Santa traveled by using pictures of different well known monuments.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting rhyming take on what happens when one little mouse IS stirring on the night before Christmas! 12/13

Funny I gave it 4 stars last year, but this year I would def. drop it down to 2 stars...I found the text a little forced this year. And didn't like the illustrations that much either. 12/12/14

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute book.

[Crazy Uncle Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this little book at my inlaws' house and decided to read it. I thought it was very cute. It made me look forward to Christmas time.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable tale of a mouse's adventure with santa claus on christmas eve. illustrations display as art and at times, magically transport the reader to another place.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

#108

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet take on the classic poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' in which a mouse takes a ride in Santa's sack across the world and over famous landmarks until Santa discovers him.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rhyming book about a little mouse who fell into Santa's toy bag.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet little book. I truly loved the sweet new rhymes and fun feel of this book. The illustrations were sweet too :)

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mouse hitches a ride with Santa Claus on his travels around the world.

[Stephanie E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my children every single Christmas Eve. We absolutely adore this book. Michael Garland is a remarkable illustrator and author.

[Echo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little children in my house love this a Christmas time

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't a huge fan of the illustration style, but the story is sweet and kind, and will no doubt be read to many children as a bedtime story in the weeks leading up until Christmas.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the rhymes and illustrations!

[Kay Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Use with K / 1st grade. Have them bring crayons and do "stocking mouse" coloring sheet.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book. Great graphics, liked the story. would recommend.