The Making of the Book Series

Many people have said that there is magic in these many translations of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. It’s safe to say that we could write a whole book just about the making of this 20-book multilingual series.

Do you remember that scene in Miracle on 34th Street where young Natalie Wood’s character is in line behind a foreign girl, waiting to see Santa Claus? When he instantly begins to speak in Dutch to the girl, who had newly arrived from Holland, Natalie was enchanted. Her cynical mother, however, protested.

“But Mom…,” Natalie cried.

We want to bring this magical gift of worldwide fluidity and unity to each child. Children know this truth instinctively. Our team of 83 translators, narrators, illustrators, graphic designers, computer programmers, and audio engineers came together, like Santa’s elves, from over 20 different countries, to bring these bilingual books and multilingual app to you.

How in the world did this happen? After having begun with a single translation into Italian, for her daughter, the project soon took on a life of its own. Perhaps like Moore’s original poem, that he had written for his children, as well. A pure heart’s love has untold power.

Sally frequently says: “It feels like I’d given birth, long ago, then have been spending the last few years following the ‘toddler’ around, making sure its needs are met… and trying to keep up!”

Enhanced eBook Development

During the COVID shutdown, when there was just one Italian translation, Sally approached an ebook specialist, who suggested that she make an “enhanced” ebook with audio narration. What a great idea! Who knew that that was even possible? And that the book text could highlight in time with the narrator, just like the old “bouncing ball”?

When the ebook company then suggested doing a Spanish translation, Sally thought that it would naturally flow from the Italian one. But it didn’t. Native Spanish speakers from Colombia, England, Mexico and the USA struggled to find the right rhyme and rhythm.

It was interesting to learn that, in Spanish, poem lines could rhyme even if the words were in the middle of the lines, not just at the end (but we made sure that they rhymed at the end to stay true to the original!). Sally would later learn that the sing-song nature of the Indian languages had its own rhythm that they would need to harmonize with Moore’s. The Italian dialects, considered oral languages, would have to be written down, another challenge and surprise.

Around the World

As momentum built, more people joined the team. One artist & philanthropist who grew up in Canada, was amazed that the poem was 200 years old and that many countries had never heard of it before! We spent much care to do both Ukrainian and Russian translations when the war broke out, and to do both Hebrew and Arabic, as well. We spent countless hours explaining the nuances of each stanza to translators in Chinese, Hindi, Malayalam (from Kerala, India), and Sinhala (Sri Lanka). The European languages were somewhat easier, but many contributors were introduced to America’s favorite poem for the very first time.