A story with an enjoyable twist on classic Christmas characters that’s innovative in its own understated way.
Mrs. Claus has a lot to accomplish before she can enjoy the holidays in this picture book from Pineda and H.S.
Merry Claus, Santa’s wife of Mexican heritage, finds herself with a long to-do list that must be fulfilled before she can celebrate Nochebuena and Christmas Day. With the help of a diverse set of elves, she sets about cooking, planning, and even welding: “Merry knows that with each to-do done, they are one step closer to the party.” They take a break to play Lotería and eat cookies, but a rusty bolt derails their safety test of their sled. Merry happily fixes it before testing the toys and jumping onto the computer to develop software that will trace the best international route for Santa. This is one of her hardest jobs, and it’s immediately derailed by a storm that threatens their carefully planned night. Despite being so busy, along the way Merry realizes the importance of stopping to celebrate holidays with her loved ones. This fast-paced debut packs a lot of big events into a compact story. While there could be more narrative focus, it is still a festive tale that melds two different December traditions in a manner rarely seen in children’s literature. Villalpando’s illustrations show Mrs. Claus with brown skin and white hair, as well as a number of elves of different nationalities, skin tones, and abilities.
A story with an enjoyable twist on classic Christmas characters that’s innovative in its own understated way.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9798985550337
Page Count: 39
Publisher: Bannon River Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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