分享今天去書店的心得。因為要過節的關係，聖誕繪本早就在童書區展示的琳瑯滿目。有經典的、有搞笑的、有改編的、還有需多現在時下電視置入的卡通人物的聖誕繪本。看來書商是不用其極想辦法要你掏錢買書囉。
其中有一本很特別的書。書名叫The night before Christmas。其實不只一本。在同一家書店裏面看到不止一本書名相同的繪本，千萬不要以為自己眼花或是英文不好搞錯了。這個同樣書名的繪本，大概已經發行了幾百本不同的繪本。我其實沒有統計數據，但是根據作者是1800年代的人，我就隨便猜想，每年發一本新的繪圖，大概200多年下來，幾百本應該不算太多。
這些名為The night before Christmas的繪本全部出自同一首詩，作者是生於1779的New Yorker - Clement Clarke Moore。(他的家占地3個blocks。稱他為紐約客一點都不錯吧。)這首詩名為 A Visit from St. Nicholas。 許多人將這首詩是為聖誕老人故事的源由。當然了，北歐那邊也有一本，作者也被認為是聖誕老人的創造者。我相信這世界上一定也有需多地方的人會認為聖誕老人是他們所創造出來的。所以，我們就不細究。
下面是 A Visit from St. Nicholas 的詩句。對於沒有讀過這首詩相關繪本的人，或許可以和小朋友一起朗讀，並一起創作想像中書中的畫面。
It was the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Source: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Random House Inc., 1983)
百年來，這個美麗的詩句，奇蹟似的讓許多插畫家願意不斷重複挑戰，以各自的繪畫表現他們對讀完A Visit from St. Nicholas的想像。真是耐人尋味。
改不掉工程師本性，在每本書出現描述聖誕老人長相的那一頁，我把它們紀錄下來。
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
讓大家和剛剛自己看詩句所想像的聖誕老人比一比囉。
你最喜歡誰畫的聖誕老人呢？
要找更多聖誕繪本，{好消息} 12/1~12/10 聖誕繪本特價活動 @ 台灣的 Green Tots英文繪本館
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