The Nightmare Before Christmas [Hardcover]

Tim Burton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

When the king of Halloween decides he wants a new holiday, Christmas will never be the same.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Expect to hear this title a lot around Christmastime. Burton, the author, is also Burton, the filmmaker (Beetlejuice, Batman), and this is the picture-book version of his new holiday movie. According to a companion adult volume, Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas: The Film, the Art, the Vision, reviewed in this issue's Upfront section, Burton has used an innovative stop-motion process to animate the movie. Maybe the story will work better as a movie than it does as a picture book. It stars Jack Skellington, Halloween's most famous figure. He concludes that Halloween's a drag, and after literally falling into Christmas Town, decides to shove Santa into a sack and trade places with him. This leads to such lines as "And what to their wondering eyes should appear / But a coffin sleigh with skeleton deer. / And a skeletal driver so ugly and sick / They knew in a moment, this can't be St. Nick." At least these lines scan better than some of the stanzas in the rhyming text. It's not clear who the audience for this is. The art is macabre and likely to scare little ones, especially those who still believe in Santa. Older kids may find the book amusing in a gross kind of way, but if they've seen the film, these illustrations aren't going to hold their interest. Libraries might want to consider purchase if the film's a holiday hit, but to be on the safe side, wait and see if the movie is big box office--and whether that translates into requests. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (Juv); 1st edition (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562824112
• ISBN-13: 978-1562824112
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,252 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Movie Sure to Become a Cherished Family Classic, July 14, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nightmare Before Christmas (Hardcover)

I bought a copy of this book a couple years back, only to find my young nephew (only 5 back then) reaching to look at it often when he visited. I've now decided to buy him his own copy of this book, while it's still in print, because I see this movie's "legend" continuing to grow as an annual Halloween classic. Such is the unique and wonderful world of Tim Burton; his style often does not catch on immediately, but it slowly finds its way beyond "cult" viewing and into the hearts and minds of mainstream audiences. This book features a generous offering of pre-production designs (including many of Burton's own drawings) and behind-the-scenes photos, which are fun to look at again and again. A beautifully illustrated book, and fun to own

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for all Burton Fans, September 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nightmare Before Christmas (Hardcover)

Although this book is aimed toward the younger readers, it is the original poem of the Nightmare Before Christmas, so no matter if you are a Burton fan or study literature, this is an essential item to add to that collectio

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wondrous version of the geniuos story told in rhyme, July 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nightmare Before Christmas (Paperback)

This version of Tim Burton's touching story is a delight to read again and again. The vivid words and lines of poetry are exciting, as well as the drawings that show the early version of this story. Any "Nightmare" fan will fall in love with this book!!