WHERE'S SANTA BOO?

This Christmas board book includes a peekaboo game.

Boo, a black cartoon cat first introduced in Where’s Boo (2013), sports a Santa hat on the cover. A half-circle cutout reveals the hat’s fuzzy white pom-pom on the final page, but before they reach it, youngsters are asked whether the cat is hiding behind a gingerbread house, a snowman, or a toy snare drum. The flocked puff is incorporated into each holiday scene, standing in as a cookie, snowball, or smoke from a toy steam train as the pages turn. Finally the cat is found hiding behind the Christmas tree beside a fireplace decorated with Christmas stockings. Each cheery illustration’s seasonally iconic images give little ones much to discover and talk about. The repeated question (“Is he behind…”) allows even the youngest toddler to quickly guess the response (“No, that’s a…”) and feel smart when they correctly guess the cat’s obvious hiding place. After a couple shared readings, they may even return to “read” the predictable story independently. The large cutout makes turning the pages easy for little fingers.

A fine addition to holiday collections that anticipates the excitement of the season while steering clear of both religious overtones and commercial hype.