Country Music Night Before Christmas Tapa dura - 2003

Although told in the traditional rhyme scheme of The Night Before Christmas, this book of holiday cheer reveals that Santa not only knows if you've been bad or good, but he is also a Nashville music star! Against a backdrop of houses adorned with plastic wreaths and aluminum trees, fruitcakes and three jillion lights, the stage is set for an extraordinary music performance.

Arriving in a red '56 Cadillac complete with a thumping sound system and an elf disc jockey, Santa brings along just a few of his close musician friends to give him the beats and energy to put on a show of Nashville proportions. No Dasher, no Dancer, no Prancer, no Vixen, but a lively group of elves plays in Santa's country-music band! Decked out in a white jean outfit, aviator glasses, and red cowboy boots and hat, Santa takes the time to give an impromptu performance filled with strobe lights, spotlights, and talent galore.

With presents flying under the tree with each thump of his bass, Santa's soon off on his way to spread his unique mix of Christmas cheer tinged with a hint of country flavor. Just don't forget to leave your light on--he might come back to set a spell!

Thomas Noel Turner is an assistant professor of education at the University of Tennessee, functioning as program area leader of holistic teaching/learning, which prepares elementary-school, special-education, and reading teachers. Turner has had over 2,000 articles published in professional journals and textbooks and served as editor of the Tennessee Association of Middle School Journals from 1995 to 2002. Turner is also the author of Hillbilly Night Afore Christmas, also published by Pelican.

For over thirty years, James Rice has lent his talents to Pelican Publishing Company's Night Before Christmas series. Widely acclaimed as the South's leading illustrator of juvenile books, Rice is the illustrator and/or author of over sixty titles with almost two million copies in print. Rice was born on a farm in Coleman County, Texas, and currently resides in Hico, Texas. He has taught art at the grammar-school, high-school, and university levels and enjoys talking to schoolchildren across the country about writing and art.