In August 1974 I decided that, since Christmas was just around the corner, I would write a Christmas bedtime story - a bedtime story that I could read to my four-year-old son. I personally loved thick books that stayed with me for a long time, so I decided it should be a long story, one that took several nights to complete. Twelve nights seemed appropriate So twelve chapters with a short 'Good night' verse at the end of each chapter (that signaled it was time for sleep and worked like a charm ) became the format. It was an original format then and still is, I believe.