Dover's new edition of Night Before Christmas is a well-executed, faithful reproduction of Denslow's original 1902 publication. The artwork is sharp, the text is crisp, and there is none of the fuzzy or muddled nature that sometimes occurs when reproducing texts from before the time of digital files.

In each spread, the right-hand page contains the illustration for the stanza, while the left-hand page contains the text itself. Accompanying the text on the left-hand pages are smaller illustrations that are less directly related to the stanza at hand. While such a format seems typical of early twentieth-century books, it is less common today and may seem odd to some readers.

Children today may be also be surprised to see that Santa--St. Nick--is not attired in the red and white to which we've become accustomed. Denslow's St. Nick is dressed more like a gentleman of the time, albeit particularly warmly in fur coat and fuzzy pants.

All in all, this edition of Clement C. Moore's beloved classic would be a beneficial addition to readers' Christmas story collections.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley. ( )