Robert L. May (1905–1976)

A little reindeer with a bright and shining nose finds himself the object of ridicule in this Christmas poem from 1939, made famous by the subsequent song and films based upon it. Made fun of by his peers, the eponymous Redolph tries to be a good little deer all the same, and one foggy Christmas Eve night, when Santa is having trouble delivering his gifts, Rudolph's incandescent nose comes in very handy, changing its owner's fate forever...

Although I grew up singing the 1949 song based upon this poem - apparently it was composed by Robert Lewis May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, a Jewish man famous for writing many popular Christmas songs - I never encountered the original story as a girl. This facsimile reprint done by Applewood Books in 1991, with the original rhyming text from May, and the original artwork of Denver Gillen, is my first experience with that original. Reading it, I was conscious of the many references made to that earlier Christmas poem from 1823, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and I enjoyed seeing the story (as I knew it from the song) fleshed out a little. Apparently the entire thing started as a Christmas booklet distributed by the Montgomery Ward Department Store! The artwork is cute, with that vintage style that utilizes a few color washes, and features cute stylized figures. All in all, a fun little Christmas picture-book, even if it is not destined (any more than the song) to become a personal holiday favorite of mine. Recommended to anyone looking for the original story of Rudolph.… (mere)

This was a family Christmas tradition - that I'd entirely mis-remembered!
I thought every year we'd sit down and have read to us 'Twas the night before Christmas in a pop-up book that had been my dad's as a child. Well the second part is true - the hand written note on the inside front cover dates it at 1952. But it turns out to be a different Christmas eve poem, this one all about Rudolph and his read nose savijng the day. All in rhyming couplets with red lines under certain words to know what to stress. The covers have long since past their best (understatement, this is not merely foxed, but probably badgered and beared as well) but there is just 1 piece of popup that no longer pops.
The text is cute and fun, although more American than I remember, snow like the froth on a soda for example would not be something I think I'd have related to as a child. I'm also fairly sure that it borrows some lines from the poem, the ending for example, I'm sure is a complete copy! It's a bit twee, but perfect for reading aloud and with its tale of the bullied reindeer saving the day and becomming the hero of all, it still has something to say to children.

Re-read - annual tradition. It's as much what this stands for as the text but, you know what? That doesn't matter. It's still beautiful and emotional.

Re-read - because some traditions need to be maintained.… (mere)