Santa Finds Some Unexpected Helpers in Oh, What a Christmas!

In Jerry Pallotta’s Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight? Santa runs through all sorts of trials with different animals before settling on the perfect creatures to pull his sleigh. In the more recent picture book Oh, What a Christmas!, Michael Garland posits a scenario in which Santa already knows which animals work best but must resort to using different species due to an accident.

Garland is a longtime illustrator, and it is his lavish artwork that drives this silly but sweet tale. The story is told with simple narration in a couple of paragraphs per page. Particularly noteworthy phrases like “BIG, FAT, JOLLY RED SKYROCKET” and onomatopoeia like “THUD! STOMP! THWACK!” jump out at the reader in extra-large print and capital letters. Santa speaks from time to time, usually peppering his dialogue with “ho”s, but the reindeer are silent, as are the animals that come into the story soon afterward.

The book consists mostly of full-page illustrations and two-page spreads filled with vibrant colors and intricate shading. The tale begins with Santa and his reindeer embarking on their Christmas Eve ride, only to have a straightforward night thwarted when the harness breaks, causing the deer to be separated from Santa and the sleigh to crash. Santa lands near a barn, and it is there that he finds his replacements: two sheep, two cows, a horse, a pig, a goat and a hound dog. The main fun of the story is seeing these ordinary animals in the extraordinary situation of guiding Santa’s sleigh.

The animals have a fairly realistic look to them while still being slightly cartoonish, particularly in their eyes, which are large and white with small black pupils, each with a pinprick of light in it. Santa, too, has such eyes, along with rosy cheeks and a bulbous nose. His beard and mustache are silky white, and his suit looks quite cozy. Santa is very jolly-looking, while the animals spend much of their time looking gently confused. Some of the facial expressions are quite comical.

As stories go, this one isn’t too complicated, but it is sweet, since it allows a ragtag team of farm animals to do something amazing and to help Santa out of a jam. There’s a general sense of goodwill about the tale and a warm glow in several of the illustrations that would feel at home in a Thomas Kinkade painting. For young children who enjoy animals, this book offers a fun twist on a Christmas tradition.

Reindeer Puzzle Over Santa's Absence in What Could Be Keeping Santa?

In most Christmas picture books, it’s the children around the world who wait impatiently for Santa’s arrival, but in Marilyn Janovitz’s adorable What Could Be Keeping Santa?, his reindeer are the ones aquiver with anxious anticipation. They know that they have a job to do, but Santa Claus seems to have forgotten. None of them can imagine what could possibly keep the jolly old elf from setting off on his yearly journey on time.

Janovitz tells her story in four-line stanzas, with the first three lines rhyming and the fourth some variation on “What could be keeping Santa?” The print is large, and most of the pages only feature one or two lines. The rhyme and rhythm works very well, particularly toward the beginning of the book, in which she describes all of the indications that the time has come for Santa to set out. Oddly, she shifts tenses toward the end of the book, suddenly writing in past tense, and I find this a bit jarring, but otherwise, the book is written well, and the ultimate answer to their question is amusing.

While the narration is charming, the illustrations are what really capture the imagination. Janovitz introduces us to eight identical reindeer, all of whom walk upright. Indeed, they seem to have more in common with humans than most reindeer in Santa stories; they don’t even live in a stable. Instead, a two-page spread depicts them all dozing off under a blanket in a bed designed for eight.

Janovitz’s vision of the North Pole is quite humble. Instead of a magnificent palace, Santa lives in a little shack, and his workshop isn’t much bigger. Since we never see Mrs. Claus or any elves, it isn’t clear whether they are part of Janovitz’s vision or if we’re meant to think that Santa makes all of the toys himself, perhaps with some help from his very anthropomorphic reindeer.

Her pictures, which are spread across two pages, are done in watercolor and colored pencil, giving them a very soft, almost pastel appearance. The reindeer have rosy cheeks and simple facial structure that makes them reminiscent of teddy bears, differentiated from them primarily by their hooves and the antlers on their heads. Their concerned expressions throughout the book are quite endearing.

What Could Be Keeping Santa? is clearly written with very young readers in mind, so this book probably wouldn’t be a great choice for kids much beyond first grade, but for tiny tots, this reindeer tale is a winner.

The Wonder Pets Save the Reindeer By Working Together

A couple years ago, I was watching TV with my cousin when a show came on Nickelodeon that I hadn’t encountered before. Called Wonder Pets, it featured a trio of irresistible young animals who went about rescuing other young animals. The spirit of cooperation and the prevalence of music on the show make it similar to The Backyardigans, another show for the pre-elementary set that features several cuddly animal protagonists. Based on what I’ve seen of them, both programs seem to be of high quality and have positive messages, so I was happy to snuggle down for a few minutes with their respective Christmas books.

The Backyardigans’ Jingle Bell Christmas is a cute little tale set to the tune of Jingle Bells. Wonder Pets! Save the Reindeer!, adapted from Chris Nee’s teleplay by Tone Thyne and illustrated by Michael Scanton, is a bit more involved, more driven by the rhyming narrative than the illustrations, though the pictures are delightful, albeit, in the spirit of the show, a tad trippy. While the starring characters are photographically generated, the backgrounds and props are animated, resulting in an odd mixed-media creation. But the animals are adorable, and the wintry landscapes are lovely, so the mixture isn’t too odd to be enjoyed.

The trio of heroes are 5-year-old Linny the guinea pig, the ringleader; sensitive 4-year-old Tuck the red-eared slider terrapin and 3-year-old Ming-Ming the duckling, who, much like me at that age, is full of bravado and could use some serious speech therapy. Throughout this book, all three of them wear Santa hats, and their house is bedecked with hand-made decorations. They also travel around in a snazzy Christmas Flyboat. But the most festive element of the book is the little reindeer who becomes trapped on an icy pond. What can these tiny critters do to help?

I recently read Reindeer Christmas, another book that involves a reindeer in distress being aided by altruistic youths. That book is more literary and is aimed at an older audience. This one is short and sweet, a nice little tale for toddlers to cozy up to. It encourages teamwork and problem-solving, and fans of the show and their parents should be satisfied with this holiday adventure with the guinea pig, the turtle and the duck.

Mark Kimball Moulton's Reindeer Christmas Encourages Generosity

One of the first Christmas gifts I remember receiving from my aunt Nancy is an autographed copy of Jan Brett‘s Annie and the Wild Animals. Several years later, she presented me with Stranger in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy by Carl Sams and Jean Stoick. In between and since, she has given me many nourishing books, but I thought of these two in particular as I read Mark Kimball Moulton’s Reindeer Christmas, for this is the story of an older relative instilling in the children she loves the importance of compassion and generosity, specifically toward hungry creatures in the winter.

In this book, beautifully illustrated by Karen Hillard Good, who uses drab colors to give the paintings an old-fashioned look, two children live with their grandmother. They make it a point to share their food with the wild animals lurking near their cozy home, and when they find an injured reindeer, they quickly welcome it in and nurse it back to health. After they send the animal on its way, they come to realize just how special a guest they housed when Santa sends them a remarkable gift to express his gratitude for restoring a member of his team.

I always find it interesting to take a peek at the dedication page, and I found the sentiments here especially moving. Kimball writes, “This story is dedicated to everyone who truly believes in the wonder of the season,” while Good, more personally, dedicates the book “to Dad, for all of those magical walks through the forest when I was a kid, and Mom, who always had the hot chocolate ready when we came home.” Though we don’t see a mom or dad in the book, this family is very close-knit, and all of them certainly appreciate the wonder of the season.

One thing I like about this book is that even though it’s a story about Santa Claus and his reindeer, the Reason for the Season is subtly incorporated throughout its pages. Around the house hang signs reading “Peace,” along with a drawing of the Nativity. The text itself mentions Christ, and in his thank you note to the family, Santa talks about praying. And this is a beautifully written tale, composed of rhyming couplets and incorporating rich vocabulary like “filigree,” “regal” and “luminescent.”

“Luminescent” is a good word to describe this book. As warm as a tray of gingerbread cookies fresh out of the oven, as heartfelt as the decoration applied to those cookies by tiny hands, Reindeer Christmas is a gorgeous tale of light and kindness.