Send this Santa back to the North Pole, and let Mrs. Claus run away on her own vacation.
Santa Claus wants to explore the world, so he sets off on a series of adventurous trips, with a lot of assistance from Mrs. Claus.
When Santa announces his solo trip, Mrs. Claus sweetly suggests a key item for each of his adventures, explaining why he will need that equipment and ending with the repeated phrase, “for you are my jolly Santa,” echoing Margaret Wise Brown’s The Runaway Bunny. In each far-flung location, Santa uses the item his wife suggested, climbing Mount Rushmore, skiing in the Swiss Alps, and touring China, Italy, South Africa, Australia, and the Amazon rain forest. In each location, Mrs. Claus can be spotted in the background, hiding. Is she watching over Santa? Wistfully wishing she could participate in these adventures as an equal partner in the marriage? Finally, Santa thinks to ask Mrs. Claus if she might want to join him on a trip, an invitation she accepts with a smile. The wife who stays at home enabling her husband’s adventures out in the world is a stereotype that is well past its expiration date, as is the stereotype of the clueless man who is rescued by the smart, unacknowledged woman. Rudimentary cartoon-style illustrations show a jolly, physically active Santa and a petite, quiet Mrs. Claus holding out Santa’s equipment, valetlike, for his convenience.
Send this Santa back to the North Pole, and let Mrs. Claus run away on her own vacation. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63450-589-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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