Book Review: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May

I recently read the original story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer written by Robert Lewis May. The original text was written in 1939. I read the 75th anniversary edition which was published in 2014 with illustrations by Antonio Javier Caparo. This is obviously a children’s book, but I don’t recall being introduced to the book as a child. The story is written as a poem that uses the same meter as The Night Before Christmas.

The plot is similar to the well-loved song by the same name. The main characters are Rudolph and Santa. The story begins the day before Christmas with Rudolph being called names by the other reindeer and being excluded from the games. Santa had a difficult time delivering presents in the dark foggy night. It was when he was delivering to Rudolph’s home that Santa discovered the glow of Rudolph’s red nose. That glow made Santa’s deliveries easy in Rudolph’s room and sparked an idea. Santa woke Rudolph and requested his help. Rudolph agreed and took his place at the front of the sleigh. When the other reindeer discovered that Rudolph – the ugliest deer – was guiding Santa’s sleigh they envied him and applauded him for receiving such a very great honor.

I really enjoyed this book. The rhyme kept my attention. The illustrations were bright, detailed, and followed the storyline nicely. I like that this book has a moral to the story — teaching that it is okay to be different and that we all have something that we are good at.

On a 1 to 5 scale, I give this book 4 stars. I recommend this book as a quick cheerful holiday read for both children and adults.