Posts of Christmas Past: The Night Before the Night Before Christmas

On Christmas Eve, I always read Clement C. Moore’s classic The Night Before Christmas with my children. On the night before Christmas Eve, we snuggle together for a slightly less formal story, Richard Scarry’s The Night Before the Night Before Christmas.

Accident-prone Mr Fumble is desperate to spread some Christmas cheer, but no-one seems to want his help. He finally decides to seek out the one person who most needs help leading up to Christmas, heading to the North Pole to offer his assistance to Santa Claus.

Unfortunately, Mr Fumble’s help results in Santa heading out a whole day early to do his Christmas rounds with an empty sleigh. Now Mr Fumble really does need to be helpful or all the good little boys and girls in Busytown will miss out on their Christmas gifts.

I have always loved Richard Scarry’s wonderful stories of Busytown and love reading this book with my children each Christmas. There are a few familiar characters from other Busytown books, the Cat family and Mr Fixit for example, but Mr Fumble and his Ski-pickle-doo car are at the centre of the story as he attempts to save Christmas and rescue Santa.

The Night before the Night Before Christmas is a wonderful part of our family Christmas traditions.

Title: The Night Before the Night Before Christmas!
Author/Illustrator: Richard Scarry
Publisher: HarperCollins, $12.99 RRP
Publication Date: 2005
Format: Hard cover
ISBN: 0007207212
For ages: 3 – 8 years
Type: Picture book