"The Mice Before Christmas" by Anne L. Watson, with delightful illustrations by Wendy Edelson, offers a whimsical and enchanting perspective on the beloved holiday tale we all know and love.

As the famous line goes, "'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." But what if there was more to the story? This delightful book unveils the bustling activities of the mice family on that magical day, revealing why they were so exhausted by the time Santa arrived.

I was captivated by the clever narrative that explores the mouse family's preparations and celebrations leading up to Santa's visit. Watson's lively verse brings the mice's world to life, filled with excitement, joy, and the spirit of the holiday season. It's a delightful twist on a timeless classic that will charm readers of all ages.

The illustrations by Wendy Edelson are simply enchanting, capturing the warmth and coziness of the mouse house during the festive season. Each page is bursting with detail, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the charming world of the mice family. From the adorable Santa Mouse to the hamster reindeer, every illustration adds to the magic of the story.

What I particularly enjoyed about this book is its ability to evoke a sense of nostalgia while offering a fresh and imaginative take on a familiar tale. The themes of friendship, family, and holiday cheer are beautifully woven throughout the story, making it a perfect read-aloud for cozy evenings by the fire.

"The Mice Before Christmas" is a delightful holiday read that will warm your heart and spark your imagination. It's a must-have addition to any festive bookshelf and a wonderful gift for children and adults alike.

This book has such wonderful pictures. I absolutely love the illustrations done by Wendy Edelson. With any picture book that always makes it so much more enjoyable.

The story itself is a play on the original Night Before Christmas prose. I would definitely recommend adding this one to your children’s library for the Christmas season. Pair the two of them together for story time at bedtime and you won’t be disappointed. That is unless your little ones are so afraid of mice and hamsters that they cry.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this book. This book was a delight at Christmas time and one children will love. A must have for your Christmas collection!

This book has amazing illustrations. The kids will enjoy finding the little details in the pictures. I think that the illustrations will add a lot to the understanding of the words and help the kids learn new vocabulary.

I love this book and find it adorable. It is going to be added to our yearly reading a Christmas. The illustrations are cute and the story compelling. I recommend it!

*thank you to Netgalley, Skyhook Press and Anne L. Watson for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


5 stars


Now I'm not one who gives out 5 stars easily, but I have to say, this little picture book deserves every single one of them! The illustrations are so detailed, colourful and amazing to look at and absorb. The story, told in rhythm, was fun to read with a lot of heart felt love.

I felt this story gave more of a 'story' than the classic 'Night before Christmas' version and for that I was greatful. It's adorable and all mice lovers will like this. Even though it's March currently, it made me wish it was Christmas time again.

I can see this being a classic children's Christmas picture book for years to come. I'm definitely going to be buying a copy to give to my neice. She loves animals and Christmas and I'm sure she will love this. No matter your age, you are never too old for such gems. Highly recommend.

This is a fantastic, amazing, Christmas storybook all about a big family of mice who decorate their house, cook lots of food and wrap lots of presents, so that they can have a huge family Christmas together. The illustrations are superb, high quality and highly detailed. They remind me of scraps that I used to collect, which were based on the olden days. I loved the really cute mice, the beautiful illustrations and the heartwarming story, which made me feel so happy. I read all of the book, and my daughter dipped in and out of it, looking at all the illustrations. We both had a lot of fun with the book and we loved it! Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A really cute Christmas story as an adaption based on Twas the night before Christmas. I love the drawings, especially the reindeer hamsters. This book is a lovely read for families with young kids.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house/ Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse..." Well, of course the mice were stirring, they were simply exhausted from all the holiday hustle and bustle of the day and evening before Christmas. The mice are having a party and that means lots of cooking and baking, house and tree decorating, present wrapping, and lots of stockings to hang as the excitement grows until the guests arrival. Then there are holiday greetings and wishes, carol singing, presents to open, food to eat and enjoy, after which the youngsters are sent off to bed to await Santa Mouse, while everyone else dances as a seven piece orchestra plays. The evening's festivities end with a visit from Santa Mouse before all visitors leave and the rest of the mice family fall into bed exhausted. This is a sweet alternative to the original Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore. It's told in the same rhyme scheme which never falters, and the illustrations are detailed and very traditional. I read this with my young readers right before we read the traditional Night Before Christmas and they loved how the stories kind of connected to each other, although they did wonder what the human occupants of the house were doing all day, too.

An adorable book that the little munchkin was enthralled with. We read it more than q few times. Super cute read!

Everyone knows the famous line “‘‘twas the night before christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring- not even a mouse”. ‘The mice before Christmas’ tells the story of the mice’s day before Christmas, and why they were so tired. I loved this clever perspective of such a classic story. The illustrations were so detailed and could tell all types of different stories for the mice family. I especially loved the Santa and hamster reindeer.

Reading The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve is a tradition within my family and I wasn't sure that this version would match up but I was very much pleasantly surprised! The illustrations are simply gorgeous, so brightly coloured and detailed that you could spend hours just taking in every tiny bit of the picture. I very much enjoyed the thought of the mice drinking hot cider and changing the reindeer to hamsters was inspired! Such a cosy, warm story and I'd be more than happy to have any one of the illustrations hanging on my wall - but I don't know how I'd choose because they are all so wonderful!

This book is a delightful retelling of the classic The Night Before Christmas that for many years was read every Christmas eve in my home. For years and years I had been told and in turn told my own daughters that on the night before Christmas there were no mice in the house. Well , Anne Watson has now stepped up to tell the us the truth. There were indeed mice, a whole family of them actually, in the house on Christmas eve. Through colorful illustrations and playful rhymes Ms Watson tells us what the mice family did on Christmas eve. They were quite busy during the day. They decorated the house inside and out, they made cookies, they sang carols and they gathered with friends. There was much dancing late into the night that was accompanied by a seven piece orchestra. When the dancing spilled out into the night they were fortunate enough to see a tiny red sleigh pulled by hamsters.
Ms Watson has a way with words that will expand the vocabulary of those lucky enough to have the story read to them. In some cases the context will make the vocabulary clear and in others children will need to ask what a word means. .
This is an educational and highly entertaining book.

This is a darling little picture book. A story about a family of mice preparing for their great big Christmas eve party.
While all the adults are doing most of the work, the little ones get to do all the fun stuff, like wrapping presents, building snow-mice, and hanging up a wall full of stockings. The pictures are all adorable and bright and go perfectly with the rhyming prose. This book will not only be fun to read, but it will also make a very sweet gift for
any young child ages 3-8 approximately.

Thank you Netgalley and Shyhook Press for this Arc.
The review and opinions are solely my own.

The Mice Before Christmas was a delightful twist on the classic tale. The illustrations are sure to keep kids interest.

Loved this poem and the illustrations!
Since I have always loved “‘Twas the night before Christmas “ this was perfect for Christmas time. Cute to think what the mice were doing behind the scenes.

A beautifully festive tale. The perfect book to read in the run up to the Christmas season. Great for all ages.

“‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring—not even a mouse.”
This was a nice Night Before Christmas adaptation on what the mice were doing in the original story. The rhymes were so fun, and the drawings were cute. It would be fun for any kid who celebrates Christmas to read. All the pictures were very colorful, and I loved how it shows a big family of mice and their extended family celebrating Christmas.

Thank you Skyhook Press and Netgalley for providing me an eARC of The Mice Before Christmas in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my goodness, this is absolutely the sweetest most adorable little Christmas book! A take off on The Night Before Christmas but with mice. The same fun rhyming writing but a tiny bit longer than The Night Before Christmas. The detailed illustrations are just the sweetest! This book will surely be added to our must read books for the holiday season, and we'll be reading this one along with The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. ❤

This is such a fun picture book and a perfect accompaniment or alternative to the original tale “‘Twas the night Before Christmas” by Clement C Moore. In the night before Christmas all the mice living in the house prepare for Christmas and have a party all before Santa Mouse arrives. I can’t comment on what this book would look like to hold as I’ve only read a digital version, but the illustrations inside are amazing and just look so beautiful and detailed and perfect.

In the same rhyming fashion as the original tale, this mouse version follows what happens to all the mice as they prepare for Christmas. There is much to do including putting the tree up and getting ready for a Christmas party where so many friends and family are invited. The rhymes in this book are brilliant and I just love how this book is just like ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas with the same rhyming pattern but about what’s happening with the mice instead, which looks like a more interesting tale!

I really love all the festivities that the mice have, including a wonderful feast and dance later. And then eventually Santa Mouse arrives and I just love what happens when he does and the creatures that are pulling his sleigh! The illustrations really add to this book and I just love how detailed and beautiful each picture looks. There’s something reminiscent of Brambly Hedge in these pictures and I just love how detailed each image is of the house and the mice and how they all look dressed in Victorian style dress is just so lovely. There’s so much detail to look in some of the images including seeing all of the things that happen in each room of the house to some of the other creatures playing instruments during the dance, and I just love how each illustration is both colourful and so detailed that you can spend ages just looking at one picture. I’ve tried sharing one of these images below from the digital copy I have so you can see just how amazing they are, though the image below doesn’t hold as much detail as some others. They really make reading this book all the more special.

Overall this is the perfect book to read in the run up to or even during Christmas (or after if you just love to read festive books like I do!). While taking inspiration from the original poem by Clement C Moore, this is very much its own story too and I just love how wonderful and fun the whole tale is. While there’s one instance of imperfect rhyming, the rest of the book just works so well, with such gorgeous illustrations and I even love the final twist in illustrations at the end showing the other ‘creatures’ in the house too.