Book 268: Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, written by Barbara Shook Hazen, illustrated by Richard Scarry, Little Golden Book, 1958


In the Rankin/Bass movie version of Rudolph, I love Rudolph, but can't stand Santa.  When I was a kid, I used to feel guilty about not liking Santa, I mean, he was Santa!  But now that I'm an adult, I can see how rude and mean Santa was in the movie -- right up until the end when he needed something from Rudolph.

The book has a kinder Santa, although possibly even meaner reindeer, so I'm not sure that is much of an improvement.  Rudolph himself, however, is still sweet and endearing, the story is a good interpretation of the classic Christmas song.

The illustrations were done by Richard Scarry -- pre-1970s Richard Scarry, which is maybe not as stylized or recognizable as post-1970s Scarry, but is softer, sweeter and more endearing than post-1970s Scarry.