What do you think?
Rate this book
On Christmas Eve
In the big, quiet house where parents are sleeping, the children wait and listen, thinking of reindeer and angels and stars. Then, with no sound but there own thumping hearts, the children creep downstairs to see the glorious tree and to make a Christmas wish. Margaret Wise Brown's magical story captures all the wonder and mystery of a child's Christmas Eve. Nancy Edwards Calder's exquisite paintings highlight all the details that make this night so special.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
1 person is currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Wise Brown
378 books1,177 followersMargaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.
She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.
She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.
Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.
Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.
She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.
She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.
Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
December 26, 2019
Some children creep downstairs on Christmas eve, they're parents are asleep but they're too full of excitement and anticipation. They look under the tree and imagine what might be in the parcels. Some carol singers come past in the night and they run back upstairs to bed.
A lovely story and realistic illustrations.
Read on open library.
A lovely story and realistic illustrations.
Read on open library.
November 20, 2024
4.00 ⭐️— Such a fun and engaging Christmas novel that I always enjoy grabbing from the Holiday shelf to revisit the joys of my old favourite day/ right of the year, Christmas Eve.
Written with such poetic wonder & joy, Margaret oozes joy in every sentence and truly encapsulates what it means for a child to be filled with anticipation, excitement & unbridled enthusiasm on the happiest night of the year.
Just looking at the cover now I can hear the Carols belting in the edge of my ears… So glad I stumbled on this in a list to finally rate it!
The Illustrations are some of the finest in all of Holiday Season English Literature canon, for what it’s worth.
Written with such poetic wonder & joy, Margaret oozes joy in every sentence and truly encapsulates what it means for a child to be filled with anticipation, excitement & unbridled enthusiasm on the happiest night of the year.
Just looking at the cover now I can hear the Carols belting in the edge of my ears… So glad I stumbled on this in a list to finally rate it!
The Illustrations are some of the finest in all of Holiday Season English Literature canon, for what it’s worth.
December 7, 2022
5 Stars for the illustrations
’It was the middle of the night.
And night of all nights it was Christmas’
This is how this story begins, a simple story but the illustrations on each page are what makes this story really come alive.
’The children couldn’t sleep.
They had lain in bed for hours, listening
And pretending.
They saw reindeer and sugar plums and angels
And stars and wise men.
Then one of the children said,
“Let’s go down and touch the tree
And make a wish
Before we go to sleep.”’
Reading this brought back so many memories for me of when I was young, and in charge of making sure my older brother and younger brother did not go near the tree before our parents were up, but I was charged with collecting their stockings (and mine) so they wouldn’t open their gifts. I, on the other hand, wanted Christmas to last longer.
’Out the window it even looked like Christmas.
The quietest night in the world with snow falling
So softly. So quietly.’
This is a simple story for young readers, or for parents to read to their children, but adults will appreciate both the story and the beautiful illustrations throughout this Christmas story.
’It was the middle of the night.
And night of all nights it was Christmas’
This is how this story begins, a simple story but the illustrations on each page are what makes this story really come alive.
’The children couldn’t sleep.
They had lain in bed for hours, listening
And pretending.
They saw reindeer and sugar plums and angels
And stars and wise men.
Then one of the children said,
“Let’s go down and touch the tree
And make a wish
Before we go to sleep.”’
Reading this brought back so many memories for me of when I was young, and in charge of making sure my older brother and younger brother did not go near the tree before our parents were up, but I was charged with collecting their stockings (and mine) so they wouldn’t open their gifts. I, on the other hand, wanted Christmas to last longer.
’Out the window it even looked like Christmas.
The quietest night in the world with snow falling
So softly. So quietly.’
This is a simple story for young readers, or for parents to read to their children, but adults will appreciate both the story and the beautiful illustrations throughout this Christmas story.
December 27, 2021
The illustrations were more interesting than the story.
April 3, 2017
The soft, fuzzy illustrations perfectly capture the quiet Christmas Eve house, with the children sneaking around, peeking at the gifts under the tree.
December 6, 2011
The illustrations were soft and the children's eyes sparkled. The story was just okay for me.
December 27, 2022
I had a lot of questions. Why are the carolers out in the middle of the night? Why did the kids put all their clothes on if they didn't leave the house? I don't mean to be a children's literature heretic, but maybe Brown's magic is inextricably intertwined in her collaboration with Clement Hurd, not this generic 90s ugliness.
December 19, 2023
2023. We love the illustrations in this short Christmas book. The story itself is a little awkward, but the illustrations are magical and capture the joy of a snowy Christmas Eve for children. One of my favorite Christmas books.
December 23, 2023
This is one of my favourite picture books of all time. It was first published in 1961 but I only found it in the late 1970s while looking for some bedtime reading for my two young sons. It was a lovely story of four children creeping out of their bedroom while their parents are sleeping and going downstairs to sneak a peek at the wonder of the decorated Christmas tree and wrapped gifts while carol singers trudge through the moonlit streets.
We read it every Christmas for many years after and later both boys read it to their children such was the tireless appeal of this magical tale.
A version is still available on Amazon despite the author having passed away in 1952!
She was a prolific writer until her untimely death aged forty-two. Many of her titles, including ‘On Christmas Eve’, were published posthumously.
Having just published my first title I am completely in awe of her output and the longevity of her work. What an inspiration for anyone starting out on a writing journey!
We read it every Christmas for many years after and later both boys read it to their children such was the tireless appeal of this magical tale.
A version is still available on Amazon despite the author having passed away in 1952!
She was a prolific writer until her untimely death aged forty-two. Many of her titles, including ‘On Christmas Eve’, were published posthumously.
Having just published my first title I am completely in awe of her output and the longevity of her work. What an inspiration for anyone starting out on a writing journey!
August 5, 2017
Got this in august because my little guy (he's 3) picked it off the shelf and pointed to the sticker and said "night night moon, and cow jumping over the moon" who can argue with that? It turns out this book is absolutely beautiful. It's so perfect for reading out loud. Anyone who found the phrases old fashioned either missed the point (it is old fashioned, they had to layer up to get out of bed and go downstairs so heat wasn't much if anything), or they weren't able to take their time and play with the "quietness" this story needs. Some of it I read barely above a whisper and it kept my little one completely engaged in the middle of summer. The subject might be about Christmas Eve, but this can be read any time of the year when you're looking for calm and peace.
December 20, 2019
Remember the feeling of being wide awake all night on Christmas Eve? You feel the stillness and anticipation all around you. You feel your breath and thoughts and heartbeat. The silence of the night can feel descending. That is what this book is about.
This book is about quiet anticipation. It’s slow and repetitive, and really beautiful. I like that it lets you sing snippets of Christmas songs that break the silence, which really brings the whole feeling alive. I like that the rest of the book makes you want to read it in a whisper. It lets you imagine the way the world stops when you look outside at the soundlessness of snow falling.
The text was written in the 1930s but illustrated in the 1990s, so three must be a story there. If it feels old-timey, it is because it is.
This book is about quiet anticipation. It’s slow and repetitive, and really beautiful. I like that it lets you sing snippets of Christmas songs that break the silence, which really brings the whole feeling alive. I like that the rest of the book makes you want to read it in a whisper. It lets you imagine the way the world stops when you look outside at the soundlessness of snow falling.
The text was written in the 1930s but illustrated in the 1990s, so three must be a story there. If it feels old-timey, it is because it is.
December 8, 2017
The illustrations on this one were much more captivating than the text for me. I loved how the illustrator managed to capture the quiet, dark stillness of Christmas Eve night as we follow the story of three curious children. It must be hard to illustrate a story that takes place in the middle of the night (that isn’t meant to be frightening) but the light is just right so we can see what is happening but it still is clearly takes place in a darkened home. Really beautiful artwork.
December 28, 2019
This is a lesser-known story by the author of "Goodnight, Moon." It's one of my favorite Christmas stories, partly because the prose is so lovely. The sentence structure is unusual. Technically, many of them are fragments ("So quietly through the hall."). Yet, this structure is what gives it a rhythm that is so appealing.
The illustrations are fine, but I can only imagine what Garth Williams could have done with it.
The illustrations are fine, but I can only imagine what Garth Williams could have done with it.
December 7, 2018
Margaret Wise Brown crafts another beautiful picture book and the illustrations are gorgeous and based on a farmhouse with incredible detail. I especially love how the illustrations capture a night in soft darkness yet each page has some sort of aluminous feature such as an old fashioned lamp post, fire place or Christmas lights. This is a must-have book for each home Christmas library.
February 17, 2017
The illustrations are nice and definitely set a lovely Christmas Eve mood. However, every page of this book made me cringe. I don't know if the author was trying to make the language sound old fashioned, but most of the sentences were phrased so awkwardly that it was hard to get through.
November 27, 2017
Lovely nostalgic night time illustrations accompany the story of three children sneaking out of bed to view the Christmas tree in the middle of the night. Ok for warm fuzzies with white skinned children enjoying an idealized Christmas long ago.
December 21, 2024
On nights of all nights, three children lay in their beds, unable to sleep, so they quietly dress and sneaked downstairs to get a glimpse of what it looks like on Christmas eve while the world is quiet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2024
Each year, we wrap our collection of Christmas and winter books so that we can randomly select one each night to read aloud as a family. This was our book for today. It’s a different kind of story, very simple.
June 19, 2017
strange wording....
January 12, 2020
Favorite Christmas picture book. The kids love this.
December 17, 2021
The story was just okay. I found myself bored reading it to my students. The illustrations are well done as they create the feeling of darkness at night.
August 6, 2022
A sweet and gentle book of children sneaking downstairs on Christmas eve for a bit of the 1900's spirit of the season. I love the touch of carolers at the end.
November 2, 2024
This edition is lovely. Captures the thrill and excitement of Christmas.
January 25, 2025
Beautiful illustrations and a strong feeling of the magic of Christmas!
February 10, 2025
Sweetly written. Beautifully illustrated.
August 22, 2025
I have never seen illustrations as beautiful as Nancy Edward’s Calder’s. This book is magic. And the fact that watercolor was her medium is amazing.
February 7, 2021
Sweet pictures! The "perfect" idyllic scene of a snowy night outside, a rather impressive family home and Christmas tree inside. So quite and peaceful and happy. Illustrations by Nancy Edwards Calder (c) 1996.
Text from 1938 is okay, but do not like this edition's italic typeset (difficult to read). Best to just look at.
Text from 1938 is okay, but do not like this edition's italic typeset (difficult to read). Best to just look at.
September 7, 2014
First sentence: It was the middle of the night. And night of all nights it was Christmas.
I enjoyed Margaret Wise Brown's On Christmas Eve. It is a descriptive look at what Christmas--at what Christmas Eve--is like for children. It focuses on simple things: what your eyes see, what your ears hear, what your nose smells, what your hands and feet touch. It seeks to capture the emotion of the holiday: the excitement, the waiting, the longing.
Lots of details, lots of adjectives. It's rich in imagery and description. There is also a bit of repetition. The text is lyrical in places.
I can't say that I loved it. But it was very enjoyable. I was also glad to see that one of the presents under the tree was a train. The children are just in awe of the magic of Christmas, of the stockings and packages, of the snow falling outside, of the carolers outside.
It was a sweet story about three siblings.
I enjoyed Margaret Wise Brown's On Christmas Eve. It is a descriptive look at what Christmas--at what Christmas Eve--is like for children. It focuses on simple things: what your eyes see, what your ears hear, what your nose smells, what your hands and feet touch. It seeks to capture the emotion of the holiday: the excitement, the waiting, the longing.
Lots of details, lots of adjectives. It's rich in imagery and description. There is also a bit of repetition. The text is lyrical in places.
I can't say that I loved it. But it was very enjoyable. I was also glad to see that one of the presents under the tree was a train. The children are just in awe of the magic of Christmas, of the stockings and packages, of the snow falling outside, of the carolers outside.
It was a sweet story about three siblings.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews