An energetic Christmas countdown for kids who wonder whether they’ve been naughty or nice. (Picture book. 3-7)
Scalawag the cat may be a little too naughty to make Santa’s “nice” list.
In a series of letters to Santa, Scalawag pleads his case that the mischief he’s been getting into isn’t all that bad. Hilarious illustrations tell otherwise. Scalawag writes “I tried every new food in front of me. I always finished my dinner,” while Beckman’s scratchy cartoons depict him getting into doughnuts, chips, and cake. His owner, Miss Violet (who keeps alive the stereotype of the middle-aged, single cat lady), always gets him catnip mice for Christmas, and he’s seen far too many of those, as he points out to Santa; this year he’d like a new “Catman and Robin” video game. His misadventures escalate. Scalawag misuses the neighbor’s sandbox and gets his head stuck in a pitcher of milk (after drinking its contents), precipitating a chain of events that doesn’t end until a toppled tree catches on fire, bringing the paramedics. Miss Violet forgives all, fortunately. Scalawag’s narrative voice is slightly snarky, and Beckman’s lightly drawn, cheerful illustrations capture the expressions of all the characters perfectly. There’s plenty of humor here, from the cat sprawled on a couch on the cover, balefully eyeing a Christmas tree with its shiny, red foil ornaments, to the endpapers covered with dozens of stuffed mice. Miss Violet is white, as is her best friend; Dr. Tim the vet is black.
An energetic Christmas countdown for kids who wonder whether they’ve been naughty or nice. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4413-2421-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Peter Pauper Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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