A fresh, interstellar Christmas adventure that’s sure to be a read-aloud staple for the season.
Santa finally visits Mars in an intergalactic twist on Clement C. Moore’s “A Visit From St. Nicholas.”
One young Martian is filled with excitement on Christmas Eve. Could this be the year that the red planet finally gets a visit from Santa? After going to bed, the little Martian is soon awakened by a clamor that could only be Santa himself. Disaster strikes when Santa’s sleigh begins to malfunction and crash-lands on the surface of Mars. The Martian must summon the Outer Space Rescue Division for help: “Come Hubble and Gamma! / Come Barlow and Oort! / Come Kelvin and Nova! / Come Quasar and Vort!” Using an array of tools and blueprints, technicians rush to the rescue, checking everything from the cockpit to the cocoa dispenser. After Santa and the technicians have put things right, a relieved Santa goes on his way—full of cookies and polar-ice juice—but not before filling the stockings of the snoozing Martians. Playful, bouncy rhyming couplets are modeled after the original poem, with familiar themes sprinkled throughout and plenty of gadgets and gizmos for aspiring engineers and outer-space lovers alike. Dynamic illustrations convey movement and excitement in muted tones, with tons of fun, extraterrestrial details to spot. Martians have fuzzy, round heads like cotton balls, with large eyes, fluffy tails, and colorful antennae. Santa is tan-skinned.
A fresh, interstellar Christmas adventure that’s sure to be a read-aloud staple for the season. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781250870308
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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