Take two things that are wildly popular with children. The Night Before Christmas and LEGO. One is a classic story about Santa Claus delivering presents, while the other is a brick based toy that generations of children have loved playing with. I’m kicking myself for not thinking of this first. The Night Before Christmas: A Brick Story is simply a LEGO retelling of that classic tale and our children are going bonkers for it.
They have other Night Before Christmas books. One is from their grandmother and another has some animated characters that they like; but this is the one that our kids are requesting this year. It’s also the first year that our eldest has been into playing with LEGO. Previously he built things on a rogue level, ships and towers, but this year he’s graduated to sets and his younger brother is following along.
A Brick Story has the same text that you and your children know and love. The pictures of the LEGO creations are very good, certainly better than I could create, but not as big or grand as some that you’ve seen elsewhere. However, that is OK, because a massive scale Santa, sleigh and reindeer creation would not have fit in with the story.
The Night Before Christmas works as a story because it’s timeless, pleasant to read and generations of people already know it. Looking at it again, the brickwork in the book is sublime and perfect enough to let the story do its thing while the LEGO bricks move it forward.
Ultimately that’s why the book is such a hit with our children. Our oldest wants to see the brick creations and is able to read some words. The Night Before Christmas, A Brick Story is one that he enjoys looking at, wants to hear the story and as a result is learning to read new words.
It’s not rocket science. The Night Before Christmas: A Brick Story doesn’t retell the story or change any parts of it. All it does it set the story to LEGO, which will attract young readers who might not otherwise be interested in reading the story.
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