SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN’ TO TOWN

A large teddy bear is the narrating character in this big, bright, and busy rendition of the bouncy Christmas song. The endpapers illustrate what happens before and after the song text, showing Santa’s crowded workshop at the front and the culminating Christmas morning scene in the home of a family with a son and daughter at the end. The story unfolds through the song’s words with the setting moving between several locations, alternating between magical scenes at the North Pole and scenes with the two children and their friends, with the connecting device of the teddy bear. Some spreads include several panels with different settings; others show one panoramic view filled with details; and one spread opens to a double fold-out showing Santa with his sleigh and reindeer. Kellogg’s Santa is indeed a jolly fellow, and the detailed spreads offer much for children to examine when not singing along with the catchy song. The end effect is buoyantly boisterous, though the frenetic energy of the crowded illustrations may leave adults feeling as though they’ve eaten too much Christmas candy. (Picture book. 3-7)