RICHARD SCARRY'S BEST CHRISTMAS BOOK EVER!

Busytown's hyperkinetic population celebrates Christmas just as you'd expect--driving a car into the sea, crashing through the ice, wrecking Santa's sleigh when called to fix it, or dropping a giant cherry pie for ""the messiest Merry Christmas ever."" There's also much mutual aid and two Scrooge-like transformations: in one mini-story Grouchy Mr. Gronkle promises to change his nasty ways, and in another the bad twins, distributing their bad-kids' Christmas gift of coal when the power fails, become good twins. The chief samaritan is Lowly Worm, who cuts a mean figure on the ice and shows up here, there, and everywhere in his trusty appletaxi, applecopter, or appletractor, as needed. In short, it's Scarry's usual cookie-cutter figures in wind-up action--complete, no doubt, with the usual drawing power.