About the Author

Holly Hobbie has worked as an artist for more than thirty years and is the author of eleven highly acclaimed Toot & Puddle picture books as well as Gem, Fanny, Fanny and Annabelle, and Everything but the Horse. She has also written an illustrated memoir, The Art of Holly Hobbie.

Reviews

PreS Up-Spirin's richly colored and ornate colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations opposite each page of text place this version of the classic poem in a nostalgic, 18th-century European town. Resembling medieval illuminated manuscripts, an embellished capital letter or a fanciful scene or figure in the first word of each verse sets the mood for each page. Readers are drawn into the magical wonder of the season through the artist's skilled use of color, detail, and shadow. The traditional portrayal of Santa as a jolly old elf is more apparent in this rendition than in other current editions. Special notes on the last page give a brief history of the poem and reveal a minor dispute over its true authorship. A warm, inviting, and beautifully illustrated book.-Maureen Wade, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Santore has illustrated many classic stories, including Snow White, The Wizard of Oz, and The Little Mermaid, and he now brings to life Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in characteristically elegant and detail-rich paintings. His is a very traditional vision, as he brings readers inside a stately colonial home, tastefully appointed with wreaths, garlands, and stockings. In a particularly nice bit of design, when the narrator "Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash," readers can do the same, opening a double-page gatefold that reveals a quiet village blanketed by snow-and a sleigh silhouetted against the moon. It's a gorgeous interpretation of a beloved holiday classic. All ages. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.