"T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the houseNot a creature was stirring--not even a mouse."This timeless poem is so well known to children and so often recited by adults it is virtually a part of our common heritage. Written on Christmas Eve in 1822--in a horse-drawn sleigh with jingling bells according to legend--it evokes the excitement and good cheer of Christmas Eve like no other work of American literature. Paired with Thomas Nast's drawings of St. Nicholas, from which we derive the classic image of Santa Claus, this lovely edition may well become the quintessential American Christmas book for children of all ages.