Lauren Semmer’s The Night Before Christmas

Clement C. Moore (1779–1863), an American scholar and poet, first wrote “The Night Before Christmas” in 1822 to entertain his children. A friend submitted it to a local newspaper, the Troy Sentinel, where it was published on December 23, 1823. Moore’s delightful description of St. Nicholas and his eight flying reindeer has since become the definitive portrait of Santa Claus.Lauren Semmer is an artist, children’s book creator, and designer whose work has been featured everywhere from textile designs and children’s apparel to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Real Simple magazine. She has illustrated several picture books, including the NYT bestselling title The ABCs of Black History and The ABCs of Women’s History, both written by Rio Cortez, and the CCBC Choices selection To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights, by Angela Dalton. Her author-illustrator debut is Poppy’s Family Patterns. Her favorite holiday tradition is decorating festive cookies for Santa. Visit her at laurensemmer.com.

Semmer’s blocky, digitally tweaked pencil art, which suggests cut-paper tableaux, is micro-detailed and thoroughgoing—there is no unused space. Absolutely everything is alluring. Good tidings indeed. — Kirkus (starred review)A great addition to holiday sections, especially where children of color can see themselves in the story. — School Library Journal