Author(s): Julie Julie Petersen

Picture Books

In clever rhyme, this fully illustrated mash-up of Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Moore's The Night Before Christmas typifies the subtle wittiness of British humor. The poem begins, "Twas the day before Christmas and Marley was dead--As dead as a door nail, so the old simile read." Once we know the backstory of Scrooge's nasty temper, we meet in succession the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, along with the nephew Fred, Cratchits and the Fezziwigs. We know that Scrooge has reformed when hear him bellow Santa's traditional refrain, "Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night." (Santa is un-present in this delightful retelling for fans of all ages.)