Clement C Moore (text), Amanda Brack (illus), The Night Before Christmas: a brick story, Hachette Australia, 29 September 2015, 32pp., $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780733635045
This is an update on Clement C. Moore’s well-loved poem A Visit from St Nicholas. Amanda Brack is an illustrator and ‘brick specialist’ and she has used her expertise to create every scene of the poem in Lego. Beautifully detailed in its creation, Brack has used Lego pieces that I didn’t even know existed; she has lit and photographed each scene alternatively in yellow light and dark blue to create the warm glow of the house and the tree, and the frosty blue of the snowy night and Santa’s sled. Kids will love this on the back of the Lego film, and adults will smile at the effort that was taken to create each scene. Something a bit different among the Christmas picture books.
Reviewed by Angie Holst