SANTA YETI

Frank, a yeti who despises cold weather, hops a disastrous ride on Santa’s sleigh to a warmer climate.

It’s tough being a warm-weather-loving yeti. Despite his best efforts, Frank just doesn’t love the cold. When he stumbles across Santa’s headquarters, he comes up with a plan. He’ll climb into a package scheduled to be delivered to Brazil and stow away on Santa’s sleigh. But Frank accidentally surprises Santa, who falls out of the sleigh and splash lands in a swimming pool. It’s up to Frank to finish delivering the gifts. Once Santa returns home, he and Frank make amends with a little warm-weather surprise for the heat-loving yeti. The rhyming text elicits the feeling of “ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Vocabulary such as perspire, bellowed, and devised make for a rich reading experience. The inviting illustrations depict the adorable big-bellied yeti with yellow teeth, wide eyes, and big blue feet and hands. The layout varies from comic-like vignettes to two main illustrations per spread to large-size full spreads. The details are fantastic, from a palm tree with Christmas decor in Frank’s home to a Santa-shaped hole in the cloud he falls through. Between story and art, there’s plenty for readers to take in. Santa and Mrs. Claus are light-skinned; the elves are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A fun, refreshing read in a field of well-worn holiday classics.