Not Last Night But the Night Before

by Colin McNaughton, Emma Chichester Clark (Illustrator)

Not last night but the night before, everyone knocked at the little boy's door. They knocked him down when he let them in. But was there a big surprise for him?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nursery Rhymes, Poetry, Storytime, Animals, Humor

30 pages, Hardcover

First published July 6, 2009

About the author

Growing up in his native England, the young Colin McNaughton had little indication that he would one day become an author-illustrator. There were no books at all in his parents' home, he recalls, but there were always comics. These were his formative literature, and their slapstick humor has been a lasting influence. "I've been talking about the comic format for years," he says. "It's the modern way of telling stories for today's children; it's about movement, the step between film and the book."


Colin McNaughton says he "hated school. The word 'school' still gives me nightmares." Opting for technical college, he admits he even "made a mess of getting in there -- I'd filled out the application wrong, and when I turned up for registration they'd never heard of me!" So he worked at odd jobs for the next year before entering art school. Although his first book was published while he was still in school, Colin McNaughton did not immediately become a full-time artist. He first tried editorial and advertising work, but did not find the satisfaction that he got out of creating children's books. "At the end of it, there it is, a book on the shelf, not like a newspaper in the gutter. In fact, once you start thinking about it, it's a smashing job!" If the response to his books is any indication, children and adults seem to agree that Colin McNaughton is doing a "smashing job."


Colin McNaughton lives in London with his wife.

Reviews

[Erin Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the consistent rhyme throughout the book, it gave it a childlike feel. I also liked the inclusion of characters from other stories, it would allow children to make links (hopefully) to the characters within this text that they recognise from other texts they've read before.

[Jenni McReddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely rhyming book with characters children will recognise from many popular nursery rhymes. Children can enjoy the funny entrances the characters make, whilst learning about manners and what not to do! They rhyming would be useful in the lower school and EYFS to demonstrate phonics and how different graphemes make the same sound

[Melly Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for books that reference other books, and this one does it on just about every page. So many talking points and opportunities to tie into the next read: "Not last night but the night before, Little Bo-peep came knocking at my door". Could be a prop story with fairytale characters if you have the puppets for it.

[Iqra Fiaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun rhyming book with familiar faces for children to recognise and laugh along with. A young boy's night is disturbed by various childhood rhyme and fairy tale characters who come to wish him a happy birthday.

This books is full of great humour that will undoubtedly engage children. The rhyme and repetition makes it easy to read and remember, meaning children can join in with parts too. Its resemblance to a song also helps. It would be a lovely addition to the classroom in replacement of the traditional happy birthday song.

The inclusion of well-known characters means their individual stories can link to this book. The rhymes are linked to the events in these characters stories so it may be useful to read some of these to children.

This book is a great model of how to write in rhyme and can be used to help children recognise rhyming words and then go onto writing their own rhymes.

Overall, a fun, engaging book that children are sure to love.

[Izzy Dorrance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It contains lots of rhyme and references to nursery rhymes.

[Laura Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book and good for a lesson on rhyme.

[John Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whimsical tale of how a variety of nursery rhyme characters gatecrash a boys birthday

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun little nursery rhyme book, with witty language and very vibrant illustrations. It is a book I would read to the EYFS. It is a fun book about a little boy's friends who all a sudden turn up at his house. He is very surprised when a flood of his friends come knocking on his door-they walk right in. The little boy soon finds out why, as they all sing........happy birthday to you! It is nice when people do things for each other, and all his friend's manage to pull off such an exciting party.

This is perhaps a good book to read after celebrating a child's birthday in the class. This book will be very relevant in showing little kiddies why we celebrate people's birthday and the importance of giving. This could be a useful book for R.E lessons, but also the repetitive language can reinforce children's learning in literacy.

Overall this is a very enjoyable read, lets face it-a party is every child's dream!

[Green Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children will enjoy identifying the string of familiar fairytale and Mother Goose characters that come knocking on a little boy’s door bearing gifts for what turns out to be a surprise party in this whimsical birthday book. The sing-song rhyme and rhythmic refrain make this birthday book one that kids will want to read again and again.

[Paw · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 stars if possible, this is a disturbing child's book my 3your old has got terrified from this book.. our little 2 year old loved looking at the moon every single night and in the blue sky in the morning then one day we where reading this book together the moon he screamed, jumped from his seat straight into us when he seen the picture and thinks now the 🌙 have eyes and he will come to the door and take him away, fast forward 1 year later now with alot of tears stress and alot of explaining to my Little One yesterday after preschool I said wow its so beautiful sky and moon is there also with the sun he just got terrified and reverted back to this book the day he seen it and was to scared to even walk, which has been terrified of the moon in the sky because of this book with its creepy picture this has taking our enjoyment out of interesting science of our universe he was/is convinced the moon have eyes and will come to our door, I have explained to him this is not real it's pictures that silly people make up, to make up story's to try and think its cool but in reality of a childs brain at this age is a rollar coaster, this has really impacted my child's life in him been terrified and reading multiple child brain books myself I can see from my sons point of view how this is so disturbing and creepy.
HIGHLY DO NOT Let YOUR TODDLER SEE THIS.

[Anna Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Not Last Night But The Night Before/i>
Author: Colin McNaughton
Illustrator: Emma Chichester Clark
Genre: Nursery Rhyme
Theme(s): Friendship, birthday celebrations
Opening line/sentence: Not last night but the night before, three black cats came knocking at the door.
Brief Book Summary:
This story is about a little boy who is surprised when all of his fairy tale friends keep showing up and knocking on his door. They all barge their way in and he is not sure why they everyone keeps coming over until the end of the story. Once everyone has arrived they sing Happy Birthday to him and he goes to bed happy.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Not last night but the night before, our young narrator tells us in rhymed couplets, a series of characters comes knocking at his door. Three black cats knock him over and run past, wrapped package in hand with ribbons streaming. The man in the moon comes next carrying what seems to be a present and trailing stars. They are followed by a series of nursery rhyme characters and their friends, from three little pigs, Little Bo-Peep, Little Miss Muffet, Jack and Jill, three blind mice, Goldilocks, and Mr. Punch, all with associated characters and all with packages. When the knocking stops, a glass is tapped, and all begin to sing a zany variety of the happy birthday song. Then our happy hero goes to sleep at last, presents strewn all over his floor. Clark visualizes this wild series of events, with a page for each of the knocking guests, in framed illustrations, and the next page for the dashing entry. At first, our hero tries to protect himself, but soon becomes part of the rushing chaos. Pencil and acrylic paints define charming detailed characters that are fully fleshed and raring to go. The final double page shows all the characters crowded together preparing to sing for the obviously delighted youngster. There is also fun in identifying the familiar characters. Do not miss the end pages and the final vignette of the late arrivals. 2009, Candlewick Press, $16.99. Ages 3 to 7.
(PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press (Somerville Mass.:), PUBLISHED: 2009.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, November 2009 (Vol. 63, No. 3))
The night before last was a busy night for the narrator: a sequence of folkloric figures, he explains in rhymed tetrameter couplets, came knocking at the door and then bowled him over after he let them in, but it all turned out happily when it was revealed they were there to celebrate his birthday. The bold yet lilting verse, deftly powered by its repetitive structure, is impressive in its capturing of nursery-rhyme flavor, and some kids may think this is just traditional material in new packaging; unfamiliar elements (British author McNaughton includes Punch as one of the visiting characters and a playful version of Happy Birthday that’ll be new to Americans) will therefore blend in just as the strange tends to do in folklore. The illustrations, colored pencil with acrylic (according to the book) that’s so soft it resembles watercolor, opt for cozy rather than outrageous, with each new visitor appearing first in a scallop-framed scene set against a smoky pale blue background, a page turn then revealing the mess as the protagonist is yet again flattened by a guest. The blend of conventional and original portraiture of the three pigs, Jack and Jill, Little Miss Muffet, and so on is effective in making the story connected to tradition yet independent. Sharp-eyed kids may notice that the visitors are carrying presents, they’ll appreciate the increasing disarray of the front hall as the traffic takes its toll, and they’ll giggle at the wordless post-script vignette of the late coming cow, dish, and spoon waiting outside the front door in the moonlight. Audiences not quite ready for deliveries from The Jolly Postman will relish seeing who turns up at the door here Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2009, Candlewick, 26p., $16.99. Ages 4-6 yrs.
(PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press (Somerville Mass.:), PUBLISHED: 2009.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I really liked how both of these reviews talked about the pictures in detail. They made it a point to say the materials used to create the illustrations and talked about how each event got its own page. I think both of the reviews however should have gone into a little more detail about other things like cultural diversity instead of summarizing the book and explaining the style of pictures.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
The illustrations are subtle and have light colors as opposed to bright colors that are popping out at you. This makes the book seem warm and friendly as the one reviewer pointed out. The text reads smoothly since it is a repetitive book and all of the text is on one page. Finally, there is a wide range of characters in this story of all different ages. The author took fairy-tale characters from all different books and put them into this one story. There are animals, children, and adults.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
As an activity to do with the children I would have a felt board to go along with my read aloud. As a new character came into the scene I would place them onto the board or I would have student volunteers come up and add them. I could also have the class make a class book that goes along with the story. For example, if someone were to come knocking on their door for their birthday who would it be and have them draw a picture.

[Nabeela Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely poetic story of how characters from traditional tales knock on the door of a young boy to give him gifts for this birthday! Reading myself was a delight as it uses characters that I enjoyed reading about as a child from the Three Little Pigs, The Three Blind Mice, Little Bo Peep and Goldilocks (plus lots more!).

A wonderful book that I would enjoy reading with my children - the repetitive phrases on each page also allows them to join in and become a part of the reading activity to accompanied by some lovely colourful and humorous pictures for everyone to enjoy!

[Nadhira Ramadhani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back when I was in primary, there was a version to this rhyme that we sang and danced too at break-time 'Not last night, but the night before, 24 robbers came knocking at my door''..
Somehow it rekindled that inner flame... The old childhood friends. So glad that I passed this book by chance on the table stand. Love it!

[Cassie Veselovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colin McNaughton brings back some nursery rhyme favorites in this birthday-bedtime book. Familiar characters such as Little Miss Muffet, The Three Little Pigs and Three Blind Mice all come knocking at the door, barging in with presents in hand. The quick, witty rhymes and fanciful illustrations will make this a favorite of not only birthday celebrations, but also any day of the week!

[Lottie Defriend · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture-book has many references to other traditional children's book stories e.g. Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Bo-peep. And has repeated phrases which help children to anticipate what might happen next.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

a lovely rhyming story that involves characters from fairy tales or nursery rhymes knocking on a child's door who have come to celebrate his birthday. A good class read for EYFS/yr1. Older children may be able to copy the style of the book but incorporate characters from their favourite stories.

[Louise Hedley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely use of rhyme to gradually introduce more and more nursery rhyme characters to the story. Engages children's imagination.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- Vibrant illustrations, lots of energy, fun traditional characters and a style that invites read-alongs make this one a winner.

[Jane Scholey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love McNaughton and his cheeky sense of humour.

[Lucca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the repetition and the onomatopoeia parts.

[Katharine Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story to read to EYFS/KS1 - it incorporates many classic nursery rhymes and children’s stories. Older children could try recreating the story using similar characters or writing styles

[Joud {hiatus} · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it is so funny how they sing happy birthday,
'Happy birthday to you, squashed tomatoes and stew, bread and butter in the gutter ,Happy birthday to you'.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a FUN book and the Emma Chichester Clark illustrations are AMAZING!!!

[Noreen Butt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some nursery rhymes and a lot of repetition such as “not last night but the night before”. The fairy tale characters that come knocking at the door, barging in with a present in their hand were the Three Black Cats, Man In The Moon, Three Little Pigs, Little Bo-Peep, Little Miss Muffet, Jack and Jill, Goldilocks and The Three Bears, Punch. Then the knocking stops, the glass is tapped and all of a sudden they sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the boy.

I like this book because it has good illustrations and surprise ending.

I recommend this book for EYFS and Key Stage 1 children.

You can do many things such as:

•To keep children focused and interested in the lesson, you can get children to repeat“not last night but the night before” every time it comes up in the book.

•You can have a lesson on the characters, settings and endings.

•You can give children different characters from the story to colour, for a classroom display.

•Another activity can be to match the rhyming words together.

•Finally, during circle time, you can get them to think about which characters came in, in order of the story.

•To check their understanding of the story, you can ask children questions such as:
Who knocks at the door first?
Who does Goldilocks come with?
Who comes with Little Miss Muffet?
Which three characters come with Punch?
What happens at the end of the story?

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an ideal introduction to storytelling, as it contains a number of familiar nursery rhyme characters which the children can relate to from their younger years. It is ideal for the 4-7 year age range as they move on from nursery rhymes to actual storytelling. It is about a boy who has to keep answering his door in the middle of the night to all these different nursery characters, who keep knocking him down as they are entering and the children are left in suspense as to what are they all doing there..!

This is a very entertaining and comical book that is sure to produce some giggles from the children and is a must have for the classroom. It can be used to read to the whole class to inspire their own creative and imaginative stories and with the addition of bright and colourful illustrations on each page, I’m sure this would become a children’s favourite in any classroom.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is filled with nursery rhyme characters, all joined together in a familiar chant. Feel free to pepper the reading with songs to help familiarize the children with them. Or stop and remark on what the figures bring with them. (The man-in-the-moon trails stars behind him, for instance). When "three little pigs" came knocking you might interject "You know, the ones who built the houses--one with straw, one with sticks, and one with banana peels? Not banana peels? Oh, with walnut shells. Not with walnut shells? What did you say? Oh! Bricks! Yes, that's right, bricks!". Here's the deal-- HAVE FUN with your crowd!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect for kindergarten. The bouncing rhythm, the repetitive lines, and the review of common nursery rhymes and fairy tales will make is a favorite. I have a student who spend recess I the library each day, she always asks me to read this book. Each day we find more hidden details in the pictures. The crooked picture frames, the flowers that end up scattered across the floor, the final page where all the characters are at a party and we hunt for the characters from each story. I will definitely use in next year while Kindergarten is preparing for their nursery rhyme parade.

[Katie=youth Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be a fabulous book to read at story time because it is about a very exciting party on not last night but the night before and all of these nursery rhyme characters show up for the narrator's birthday. There are a few characters I am not familiar with (Punch?), but during story time I realized that more than half of my preschoolers had never heard of most of them including Jack and Jill. This book might be fun for teachers doing a mini-unit on nursery rhymes to tie everything together. The pictures are beautiful; pencil and acrylic illustrations.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this fun picture book, the familiar "not last night, but the night before" is mixed together with nursery rhymes, as characters come to visit. From Little Bo Peep (who has found her sheep) to Jack and Jill.

The premise is very cute, but the execution stumbles, and not all of the rhymes work perfectly, and in some places the rhythm is off. In a book that is as repetitive as this, the rhythm needs to work or the whole book falls flat.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what I was looking for. I liked the various nursery rhyme characters coming in. I liked the different ways to tell how they all hurried in and the poor kid kept getting knocked over--I think the kids would find that funny. (Loved Punch's part, though.) The ending just seemed a bit "oh," for me--and I knew it was a birthday book! So, maybe I'll have this as a back-up if I can't find any other books to suit or I need a space filler.

4/26/17 Used as opener in "N" theme. The kids absolutely loved it. All the different nursery rhyme characters (which I realized as we read began with N, too!). It was a way to test their knowledge of nursery rhymes to see if they knew who else might be with them (Miss Muffet would have....). Much better than I thought, and with some newbies in the crowd, too. Not bad at all!