A sweet holiday tale that emphasizes love and acceptance all year round.
In Vanous’ picture book, Santa Claus finds a runaway puppy requiring some Christmas magic to find the perfect home.
It is summertime, and Santa Claus is busy playing “reindeer games” in the woods when he stumbles upon a lost little puppy named Asher. Asher’s sisters were recently adopted; the fluffy white dog explains that he is hoping for “a home that feels just right—one full of adventures and someone who will love me forever.” Santa takes Asher back to the North Pole, where the pup spends the rest of the year frolicking with animals and elves alike. Just before Christmas, Santa receives a letter from a fair-skinned, brown-haired little girl named Karen Sue who wishes for a puppy of her very own. So, on Christmas night, as Asher helps Santa with his deliveries, they make one final stop at Karen Sue’s house—where Asher realizes he has finally found his perfect home. Mrs. Claus narrates with an appropriate simplicity punctuated by occasional vivid descriptions (“he looked as fresh and bright as a peppermint stick in new-fallen snow”). There are moments when the prose snags as it sporadically veers into rhyming territory, but this never obscures the hopeful message that everyone is deserving of love. Flint’s illustrations are cheerful, consisting of broad strokes and colorful shading done in a somewhat old-fashioned style. The result is a quiet, comforting story brimming with puppy love.
A sweet holiday tale that emphasizes love and acceptance all year round.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2025
ISBN: 9798990258655
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Sept. 5, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience.
The How to Catch A… crew try for Comet.
Having already failed to nab a Halloween witch, the Easter Bunny, a turkey, a leprechaun, the Tooth Fairy, and over a dozen other iconic trophies in previous episodes of this bestselling series, one would think the racially diverse gaggle of children in Elkerton’s moonlit, wintry scenes would be flagging…but no, here they lay out snares ranging from a loop of garland to an igloo baited with reindeer moss to an enticing candy cane maze, all in hopes of snagging one of Santa’s reindeer while he’s busy delivering presents. Infused with pop culture–based Christmas cheer (“Now I’ve already seen the shelf with the elf”), Comet prances past the traps until it’s time to gather up the kids, most of whom look terrified, for a group snapshot with the other reindeer and then climb back into harness: “This was a great stop but a few million to go / Christmas Eve must continue with style!” Though festive, the verse feels trite and unlikely to entice youngsters. A sprinkling of “True Facts About Reindeer” (“They live in the tundra, where they have friends like the arctic bunny”) wrap up this celebration of the predatory spirit. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 9781728276137
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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