"A father rabbit awakens on the night before Christmas and meets towering polar bear St. Nick in this enthralling, animal-centered retelling of Clement C. Moore’s beloved Christmas poem. Richardson carefully swaps in details befitting the animal stand-ins, maintaining the original’s jaunty rhyme scheme and most of its original verse: “His eyes how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!/ His nose was all wet and his cheeks were all hairy.” Dunn’s intricate spreads present fantastical, near-photorealistic characters against lush snowy landscapes, amplified with adroit employment of chiaroscuro. This adaptation will serve well as a cozy wintertime read for animal lovers, and as a lovely option for anyone seeking a slight revision of the traditional."
——Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

"Dunn’s gorgeous paintings are enchanting, full of Christmas cheer, and the ingenious spin makes this a wonderful addition to any collection ... A clever, animal-centered adaptation that deserves to become a holiday favorite."
——Kirkus Reviews

★Rights sold to Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Czech, Slovakia and Bulgaria!
★A gorgeous version of a holiday tradition!
★Rewritten by multi-awarded author Steve Richardson based on the international widely known classical work of Clement Clarke Moore——the Night Before Christmas.
★Gentle and delicate, immersive illustrations are illustrated by Chris Dunn, who has won many awards!
★A magical blend of vintage picture book art and animal characters that will be a beloved family read at Christmastime.

The Night Before Christmas was first published in 1823 and is considered as being largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-19th century to today. The enchanting poem tells the story of a man who, while his wife and children are fast asleep, awakens on Christmas Eve to curious noises outside of his house. As he looks out of the window he witnesses a sleigh, pulled by eight reindeer, flying high across the sky before landing, to the man s great surprise, on the roof of his very own house. The events that follow mark the beginning of the tradition of Santa Claus and the joy that he brings on Christmas night.

Not a creature was stirring - except for the epic-ly huge polar bear squeezing out of the fireplace with a sack of toys - in this wonderfully illustrated re-telling of the classic Christmas story, The Night Before Christmas. Families and young readers will love the lavish watercolor illustrations of polar bear Santa, Pa Bunny in his cap, the reindeer sweeping across the sky, and of course the story regularly returns to the cozy home of the mouse, who sleeps through all the action.

About the Author
Steve Richardson is a three-time award-winning author from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is also the author of Lavender Blue and the Faeries of Galtee Wood, illustrated by Larry MacDougall; Billy's Mountain, illustrated by Herb Leonhard; Alexander Trout's Amazing Adventure, illustrated by Marie Beschorner; and Canlandia, illustrated by Fiona Sansom. Canlandia won the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in 2014 and was named the 2014 New Mexico / Arizona Book Awards best book in juvenile fiction 2014. Lavender Blue won the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for best in juvenile fiction in 2013.
Awards
“Lavender Blue”--2013 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for best in juvenile fiction
“Canlandia”--2014 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award
--2014 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards best book in juvenile fiction

About the Illustrator
Chris Dunn is an illustrator living in Wiltshire, UK. When he is not painting watercolour illustrations for books and magazines, he enjoys spending time in the countryside with his young family and subjecting them to his questionable guitar playing.
Chris has been a freelance illustrator since 2008, working for editorial and publishing clients, such as Haymarket, BBC Audiobooks, The Times and Galerie Daniel Maghen.
In 2018, Chris illustrated the children's book 'Paisley Rabbit and the Treehouse Contest', written by Steve Richardson. Chris has also produced a collection of illustrations for 'The Wind In The Willows', published by Guomai, China.
Chris featured in a number of art publications, such as Imagine FX, DPI in Taiwan and Spectrum in the US.

Awards
2018 Creative Child Magazine - BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD Kids Picture Books category for 'Paisley Rabbit and the Treehouse Contest'.
2018 Indie Book Awards - Joint winner of Best Chrildren's Picture Book (6 years and up) for 'Paisley Rabbit and the Treehouse Contest'
2014 Pound Art Open People's Choice Award
2012 Minerva Prize
2012 Bath Artists Society Young Artist Prize
2011 Bath Art Prize
2011 Agnes Sloan Prize

Exhibitions
2018 Solo Show, 'Paisley Rabbit', Pound Arts Centre, Corsham
2016 Joint Show with Joe Weatherly, Galerie Daniel Maghen, Paris
2016 Solo Show, Pound Arts Centre, Corsham.
2012 Bath Art Prize Exhibition, 34 Stall Street, Bath
2012 Bath Artists Society Open Exhibition, Victoria Gallery, Bath
2012 The Royal Watercolour Society Open Exhibition, Bankside Gallery, London
2011 Bath Art Prize Exhibition, The Octagon Chapel, Bath
2011 The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, Mall Galleries, London