A troupe of entertaining elves, a jolly Santa, and lots of underwear jokes add up to Christmas chuckles in this engaging...
There’s nothing like underwear jokes to get kids giggling, and this funny story focuses on Santa’s entire underwear collection and which set he will wear on Christmas Eve.
The cover shows a nearly nude white Santa displaying his rotund belly and a too-small pair of turquoise undies, with two elves laughing hysterically. The story opens on Christmas Eve with Santa eating a healthy dinner, taking a bath, and combing his long, snow-white beard. He is assisted at every step by a crew of cute elves in green and candy-cane–striped suits, his helpers including both elves of color and female elves. (Hurray for elf equality!) Trouble ensues when Santa can’t find his favorite set of “old, faded, and saggy” long underwear and finally decides on his green, shamrock-sprinkled long johns. When he opens his closet to put on his red suit, he finds a new set of bright red long underwear, a Christmas gift from his reindeer. Rudolph can be spotted in several illustrations setting up this surprise for Santa. The slight mystery is well-paced, and the different sets of underwear set up some laughter, along with the cavorting elves. Soft-focus illustrations in watercolor and pencil are mostly full-page in size, making this a fine choice for reading aloud to a group.
A troupe of entertaining elves, a jolly Santa, and lots of underwear jokes add up to Christmas chuckles in this engaging story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58536-954-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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