Friday Reads: The Night Before Christmas Bedtime Shadow Book

In case you haven't noticed a theme brewing, I am going to try to focus on Christmas-themed books this month. With all of the busy-ness of December, I don't have a great deal of time to read and there are just too many holiday kids books out there that are too great to keep secret. Today's review is one of the most special I've found in years.

The story/poem "The Night Before Christmas" is well-known and beloved. To me, it isn't Christmas without it. I had a board book for the girlies of it,but they never seem interested in it. Finally, when I was shopping last week, I stumbled upon this version. What sets this apart is that it is a Bedtime Shadow Book from Peter Pauper Press.

On each page, there is a silhouette that is meant to be projected as you read the story. By simply shining a flashlight through the window containing the silhouette, the image appears on the wall. My girls were absolutely DELIGHTED by this book. The first night, the jumped up and down excitedly as the new images appeared. Looking for the cat that appeared throughout the book or the different expressions on Santa's face made the twins totally light up.

The first night, the book kind of backfired on us as they were so excited they had trouble getting to sleep. On subsequent nights, we made them stay in bed as I read and the struggle was much less.

I LOVE this book. The story is a continued favourite of mine and I am glad to get to share it with my kids in a way that easily engages them. They now ask for the "ho ho book" constantly when we are in their room. It is relatively easy to hold the book and the flashlight - just remember to shine the flashlight on the side that contains the words...that was a mistake I made the first time I read it.

Also worth noting is that there are several books like this for the rest of the year. A few of them might be ending up under our tree this Christmas (shhh - don't tell my daughters)