The Navy's Night Before Christmas

September 15, 2014
A young sailor on lookout duty aboard an aircraft carrier narrates this tongue-in-cheek restaging of Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, a companion to The Soldiers’ Night Before Christmas. Holland and Ford swap out the chubby, bearded Santa for a brawny “Master Chief Claus,” who arrives via a Greyhound cargo aircraft filled with presents. “A salty old dog, he was all chest and arm./ I bet he could bench-press a Jeep with no harm,” gushes the narrator, before the Chief and his crew deliver gifts for the sleeping sailors: “Garcia and Washington, Collins and Yee,/ and Williams and Rubin, and Clark and Ali./ ‘Our mission tonight: to take care of our own,/ Bringing joy to our sailors with gifts straight from home.’ ” Manders’s retro caricatures infuse the sailors with personality in this shipshape twist on a holiday favorite. Ages 4–8.

September 1, 2014
Following a previous military-themed Christmas parody, The Soldiers' Night Before Christmas (2006), this sequel offers a similar celebration, set this time aboard a U.S. Navy ship. The young sailor who narrates the story is standing watch on Christmas Eve on the tower of an aircraft carrier. The other sailors are "nestled all snug in their racks / Like orders of pancakes, so tight were the stacks." Suddenly the night's peace is interrupted by the arrival of a Seahawk helicopter, a squadron of Hornet fighter jets and a submarine full of SEALs. Next, a cargo plane lands on deck, spilling out a load of presents and Master Chief Claus, a barrel-chested, lantern-jawed leader with definite command presence. His eight assistants fill up sea bags with gifts for all the sailors aboard, and along with Master Chief Claus, they fill a stocking for each sailor and cover each one with a homemade quilt, "every stitch set with love." The text follows the familiar pattern of "The Night Before Christmas" with overall success, though a couple of rhymes run aground. Bold paintings in a loose style bring all the naval personnel to life and capture the drama of the ships and aircraft arriving on this busy Christmas Eve. Young readers who like ships and planes will be drawn to this setting, and anyone with a connection to the U.S. Navy would be pleased to find this under the Christmas tree. (Picture book. 4-8)

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