Original Christmas stories don’t grow on pine trees, but this story of Papa, Mama, and Baby (Polar) Bear trying out the food, chairs, and bed in a cozy cottage at the North Pole strikes a balance that is just right. Santa is off making deliveries and Mrs. Claus and her three politically correct elves (an Asian girl, an African-American boy, and a redheaded boy) are out fetching a Christmas tree when down from the snowy hills come three playful polar bears that reprise Goldilocks’s antics. When Mrs. Claus and the elves find the bears asleep in bed, the sharp-nosed Mrs. Claus strongly suggests that these bears better help clean up their mess instead of running out the door. They all work together to tidy up the cottage before welcoming Santa Claus back for a late Christmas Eve celebration. The elves and Mr. and Mrs. Claus even manage some gifts from the heart for their unexpected visitors. Catalano (Frog Went a-Courtin’, 1998) has a particular fondness for polar bears that is apparent in his charming illustrations, with evocative expressions on the bears’ faces and believable body positions even for unusual polar-bear behavior, such as carrying a tray of cookies or putting the star on top of the Christmas tree. This large-format book is thoughtfully designed using two-page spreads with bold, clear illustrations of the bears and the other characters, complementing a story that clearly and cleverly parallels the Goldilocks tale. A satisfying sugarplum for holiday story times with a wide range of children, from preschoolers through second graders. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-56397-864-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A forgettable effort that fails to capture any of the magical charm of Santa’s story. (Picture book. 3-6)
Wallace and Elkerton continue their series about catching elusive mythical creatures (How to Catch a Leprechaun, 2016, etc.) with this Christmas story about an elf who must avoid traps constructed by children before Santa’s annual visit.
The unnamed elf narrator is the sole helper traveling with Santa on his delivery rounds on Christmas Eve, with each house featuring a different type of trap for elves. The spunky elf avoids a mechanical “elf snatcher,” hidden in a plate of cookies, as well as simple traps made of tinsel, double-sided tape, and a cardboard box concealing a mean-looking cat. Another trap looks like a bomb hidden in a box of candy, and a complicated trap in a maze has an evil cowboy clown with a branding iron, leading to the elf’s cry, “Hey, you zapped my tushy!” The bomb trap and the branding iron seem to push the envelope of child-made inventions. The final trap is located in a family grocery store that’s booby-trapped with a “Dinner Cannon” shooting out food, including a final pizza that the elf and Santa share. The singsong, rhyming text has a forced cheeriness, full of golly-jolly-holly Christmas spirit and too many exclamation marks, as well as rhyming word pairs that miss the mark. (No, little elf-boy, “smarter” and “harder” do not rhyme.) Bold, busy illustrations in a cartoon style have a cheeky appeal with a focus on the freckle-faced white elf with auburn curls and a costume with a retro vibe. (Santa is also white.)
A forgettable effort that fails to capture any of the magical charm of Santa’s story. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4631-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
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BOOK REVIEW
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