IF MICE PULLED THE SLEIGH

Barnsley’s rhyming picture book asks: Are flying reindeer truly the right choice to pull Santa Claus’ sleigh?

An unnamed narrator laments that, despite the book’s title, mice wouldn’t be strong enough to do the job of pulling Santa’s vehicle. If cats tried to do so, they wouldn’t be able to agree on which direction to go, so they wouldn’t be a good replacement either. Dogs would slobber and sit on the sleigh instead of pulling it, and they’d shed all over the presents before delivery. Ducks, like magical reindeer, can fly, but a sleigh wouldn’t float if they landed it in a pond. The narrator quickly crosses snakes off the list (“It would be safer to walk”), as well as elephants; the latter are too heavy to land on roofs and have “elephant-sized poops” to clean up. It seems that flying reindeer may be the best choice, after all, as they make Christmas Eve a success every time. Barnsley offers a simple setup that results in a consistently clever and engaging story overall. Epelbaum’s full-color cartoon illustrations are full of small details and a vivid, starry sky background, as well as expressive faces on human and animal characters. The illustrator also effectively plays with perspective, keeping the visual interest high.

A witty and well-illustrated update to a classic holiday tale.