RANDY, THE BADLY DRAWN REINDEER!

A third metafictive story about the “badly drawn horse,” this time for the Christmas bookshelf.

As in the prior titles about Randy, illustrations look as though they were torn from a child’s coloring book, with colorful, carefully crayoned detail. Speech balloon text from offstage characters—a child excitedly sharing the story with a caregiver before bed—focuses attention on Randy himself, whose dialogue forms the main text. He learns about Christmas and becomes enamored of Santa’s reindeer. Following a suggestion from the unseen child (“If only Randy were a reindeer….Then he could help Santa!”), Randy decides he wants to join them in pulling the sleigh through the Christmas Eve sky. Alas, his attempts to prance, fly, and eat carrots are, though hilariously endearing, less than successful and tiring. A forlorn Randy collapses with exhaustion and is alarmed when he wakes up on Christmas morning, too late to pull Santa’s sleigh. A happy ending emerges, however, when Randy discovers a gift from Saint Nick, perfect for his reindeer aspirations. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A merry, bright, and silly Christmas tale.