Pop-up 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

This is a very short version of the story, at least half is missing. Disappointed

POSITIVES:- It's hardback, so seems more hard-wearing than a lot of the other paperback editions I've seen. I bought it as a gift for my son's first Christmas to use year after year in his Christmas Eve box, so wanted something that would last.- The pop-up illustrations are lovely and I'm sure for children would make the story more magical. The last page with the sleigh flying off is particularly magical. The book has 5 double pages, each with a pop up illustration (I've uploaded a photo of each of these). The cover also has an appealing, modern design.NEGATIVES:- The book is very small (the size is listed in the description, but I didn't check this properly before ordering) - in my opinion, a larger book would be better for reading and sharing with children, looking at and talking about the pictures etc. I've added a photo of the book next to an A4 sheet of paper for an idea of size.- It's an edited version of the poem - not the original full text. Quite a lot of the poem has been cut out. It was really disappointing that they missed out the whole description of St. Nick - the lines about his eyes twinkling, his beard white as snow and rosy cheeks and his 'little round belly/that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly' are missing - I don't know why they'd remove some of the most well-known, memorable lines!- The price - I paid £6.84, and when I came to review it the day after I received it, the price had increased to £10.99 - in my opinion, such a small book is not worth that much.- As I was buying it for my son's first Christmas to use year after year, I wanted to write a personal happy 1st Christmas message in the front cover, but there isn't space to do this - the very first page of the book is the other side of the front cover and the first pop-up page.OVERALL:It's a nice little book, but unfortunately I'll be looking for an edition with the full poem that I remember from my childhood and that is a larger size. It's a shame, because I loved the pop-up style.

The illustrations and pop ups in this book are enchanting, but the product description really should warn that this is a heavily truncated version of the original poem.Whole verses, in fact, a whole section is missing. What is ANight Before Christmas without reference to St Nicks little round belly and it’s propebsity to shake like a bowl full of jelly.The poem does not flow well, and for anyone who has grown up with it, it is hard to read aloud with the missing sections. You find yourself doubting your sanity as you trip over the missing segments.Much if the beautiful imagery is lost. So I was very disappointed.

I bought this for my wife as it has been something of a tradition to read it to the children on Christmas Eve every year, as did her parents and their parents before them. Our last daughter moved out to her own place this year and with her went our copy of this beautiful poem. My wife was so excited to get this. Her joy turned to disapointment as she read it aloud. Knowing it off by heart as we do, noticing a number of verses were missing. Huge let down. It only got one star as the pop ups were quite good. I will now look for a proper version elsewhere.

I like this shortened version as the younger children don't get bored and start to whine, they just enjoy the shortened version of the poem along with lovely pop up pictures to help them visualize the coming of Santa.I also have the long version but this shortened one wins hands down for eager youngster that won't sit still. This is for children not adults so can't understand the bad reviews. It eases children into this Christmas Story Poem, whereas the long version can be rather tedious to some children.Perfect size, perfect short Christmas Story Poem, a lovely quality book, that all my grandchildren liked.