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   Book Info

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Pennsylvania Dutch Night before Christmas  
Author: Chet Williamson
ISBN: 1565547217
Format: Handover
Publish Date: June, 2005
 
     
     
   Book Review
Pennsylvania Dutch Night before Christmas

ANNOTATION

An adaptation of the famous poem about a Christmas Eve visitor, set in the Pennsylvania Dutch country. Includes a pie recipe and information about Belsnickel and the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect.

SYNOPSIS

The newest retelling of the Christmas classic blends Santa Claus with the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch figure of the Belsnickel, a thin, cantankerous old man who visits children before Christmas and rewards, or punishes them based on their behavior. The distinctive Pennsylvania Dutch dialect and the hilarious antics of the crotchety Belsnickel will make this a Christmas tale your family will enjoy again and again.

About The Author:
Chet Williamson is an award-winning author and an authority on the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. His works have appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire and many other magazines and anthologies.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature

Yet another version of the Clement Moore poem recast in dialect. Santa is replaced by the "Belsnickel," and reindeer become cattle. The Belsnickel is dressed in a long black coat with the familiar white beard and flat black hat of the Pennsylvania Dutch. A guide to pronunciation and a recipe for shoofly pie are provided at the end. 2000, Pelican Publishing Company, Ages 6 up, $14.95. Reviewer: Dr. Judy Rowen

Foreword

As explained in the author's note, in Pennsylvania Dutch country, a crotchety old gentleman known as the Belsnickel plays the role of Santa Claus. Although the Belsnickel is skinny and dressed in black, he still sits in judgment over children's behavior giving them treats if they're good and threatening to spank them with his switches if not, "( though there is no recorded occurrence of this ever happening)." Clement C. Moore's The Night Before Christmas is used as the basis for this tale and comparisons are many. The Belsnickel arrives in a plow pulled by cows. Although readers are told the Belsnickel usually enters a home through the front door, in this parody the cows are made to climb up on the farmhouse roof. Once up high, the roof collapses and the Belsnickel falls to the bed below. Of course everyone is now awake to greet him and after a show of grumpiness he hands out gifts to the three waiting children. What makes this story fun is the German accent (Pennsylvania Dutch dialect) that's built into the text. For instance, instead of was, it says, "vas" and instead of just, "chust." The story's humor is largely due to being thus forced to speak and listen differently. As in the original poem the verse here is rhyming. Rather than striving for grace and flow this poem has a clunky, irreverent, old world style. "And vhen ve looked up through the hole in the ceiling, It vas chust a little bit vorried ve're feeling." The illustrations are created with a scratchy pen and ink line with drab watercolor backgrounds. The Belsnickel comes across as a friendly guy, despite his reputation, while the droopy-eyed cows are sure to produce some giggles. Unfortunately, the monochromatic pajama cladfamily, with their frozen poses and mouths agape, are less animated than the cows while the cat is chust unnaturally large. This book would best be appreciated as a supplement to Moore's original poem or alongside one of Jim Rice's many other take-offs of The Night Before Christmas.

     



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