THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

This old rhyme has been illustrated so many times that it must be hard to think of a new approach. Tasha Tudor seems to have taken the opposite tack in these full page illustrations, alternately dim black and white and shadowy color (predominantly blue) but all framed in tree branchy sticks with evergreen clumps and small woodland animals at the corners. Nostalgia is the unavoidable word and it seems that what Tudor is aiming for is some lowest-common-denominator conception of old-fashioned Christmas. To her credit, Tudor does make St. Nicholas the little elf Moore's words describe, and, more important, the cat and dog that greet Santa at the fireplace and frisk with him and the toys will give young listeners some action to watch as Moore gets on with his straight description. Still, the overall look is a turn off.