Three Night Before Christmas versions arrive for iOS

In December of 1823, an anonymous poem was printed in The Sentinel, a Troy, NY newspaper, titled A Visit From St. Nicholas. It was widely reprinted, and eventually attributed to Clement Moore and re-titled as “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” It’s arguably the most famous Christmas poem ever written. It introduced the physical appearance of Santa Claus, the names of his reindeer, his sleigh and his penchant of giving presents to all the good little girls and boys. It’s a poem that most everyone knows by heart, or at least its first few stanzas.

This year, the much loved poem has spawned at least seven iOS versions, which are available on the App Store, ranging from very traditional with old-time look and feel, to a complete re-imagining of the tale. I’d like to tell you about three of them. Two of the three use the original text of the poem, and they have a passel of animated elements, as do most interactive children’s books. But outside of the Violet re-telling, I really don’t consider these children’s books per-se. Maybe they are creating a new category of interactive family books.