“’Twere Christmas Eve an’ mist a-crept off the crick.
An’ the col’ winner drizzly was a-comin’ down thick.”
It’s a winter night in the Ozarks, and while Maw and Paw are snoring in their beds, their son is waiting up with his dog, Arkansaw, to catch a glimpse of Saint Nick.
The second the portly man and his big pet raccoon cross the threshold, there erupts such a commotion as the holler has never seen! Arkansaw takes exception to Santy’s raccoon, and quicker than you can say “By sassafrack!” the whole place is busted up. But Santy saves the day with a fine ham biscuit feast and sneaks a whole set of musical instruments into the stockings hung by the “fahrboard.” After a fine backwoods jig, Santy has to git and floats into the night, saying, “Happy Christmas to all, ev’ry maw, paw, ’n tyke!”
About the Author
Amanda McWilliams was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. She spent her childhood summers and holidays visiting her grandparents in Little Rock and in Willow Springs, Missouri, where she fell in love with the Ozarks. Ms. McWilliams holds a BA in anthropology and an MA in education from Tulane University. She has served as program director and curator for New Orleans-area museums and as a volunteer coordinator for the Girl Scouts. Ms. McWilliams lives in Mandeville, Louisiana, with her husband and son.
About the Illustrator
Widely acclaimed as the South’s leading illustrator of juvenile books, James Rice illustrated and/or wrote over sixty books, including all eighteen of the books in The Night Before Christmas Series. There are almost two million copies of his books in print. Mr. Rice taught art at the grammar-school, high-school, and university levels and enjoyed talking to thousands of schoolchildren across the country about writing and art over the course of his thirty-year career.
OZARK NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
By Amanda McWilliams
Illustrated by James Rice
JUVENILE FICTION / Holidays & Celebrations / Christmas & Advent
32 pp. 8 1/2 x 11
31 color illustrations
ISBN:9781589800564 hc