A Christmas Gift for Santa: A Bedtime Book

How does Santa celebrate Christmas after finishing his round-the-globe deliveries? In this rhyming picture book, readers accompany jolly old St. Nick on a search through his “old cottage house” at the North Pole for a gift. He spies empty stockings and his “old buckled boots” “near the crèche,” and the elves dozing “in polka-dot jammies/ And jingle-belled toes,” but no brightly wrapped surprise with his name on it. Jatkowska fills her mixed-media illustrations with cozy details and a cast of kind-eyed, gently smiling critters, including a playful cat and mouse that readers can seek and find in every spread. A thoughtful note from Mrs. Claus helps to perfectly cap off the evening—and the present-hunt. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 4–8. [em](Oct.) [/em]