MAX FERNSBY AND THE INFINITE TOYS

A young boy comes into possession of a miraculous bag.

Two weeks before Christmas, the continued shenanigans of North Pole elves Eldor and Skhiff result in their being given the less-than-desirable job of “fertilizer relocation engineer” (shoveling reindeer poop). Meanwhile, a 10-year-old foster child named Max Fernsby takes an ill-fated, snowy bedpan ride (he and his friends couldn’t afford a toboggan)…and winds up careening into Steve Bozeman, the greedy CEO of Rainforest.com. Though the kids run off, they haven’t seen the last of Bozeman. When a hankering for pizza prompts Eldor to borrow Santa’s sleigh, an almost-collision sends Santa’s red bag falling through the sky onto Max’s head. The bag produces whatever toy he asks for, and he and his friends start a business to support themselves and provide presents to the neighborhood at much lower prices than Rainforest.com offers. The elves need to find that bag, especially before Bozeman gets his hands on it! Opening with a promise that readers have never heard a Christmas story quite like this one, Swallow and Gaulke certainly deliver in the unique zany shenanigans department. Despite a couple of missteps—a key beat of the climax happens abruptly offscreen, and the end has an odd twist—young readers looking for humor with a holiday twist will have fun here. Occasional illustrations depict the primary characters as light-skinned, though people of color appear, too.

General tomfoolery, affectionate and otherwise.