Friday, November 17, 2017

Review: Love, Santa by Martha Brockenbrough and Lee White

9780545700306
$17.99

In a series of letters, a young girl writes to Santa to ask about the North Pole, Mrs. Claus, and of course, Christmas goodies. Year after year, Santa writes back, and a heartwarming relationship develops, until one year, the girl writes to her mother instead: Mom, are you Santa? Her mother responds to say that no, she is not Santa. Because Santa is bigger than any one person — we bring him out through kindness to one another and the power of imagination. This transformative tale spins a universal childhood experience into a story about love, giving, and the spirit of Christmas.

There are quite a few books out, now, (and a few "my mother's cousin's dentist did this" stories going around Facebook) with variations on the everyone-is-Santa theme. This looks to be one of the better ones!

Books with removable items...the bane of every librarian's existence, but fun for individual kids. The first page tells us, "When Lucy was five, she wrote Santa a letter." The second page in the spread has a real envelope containing the note, "Dear Santa, The North Pole is freezing! How do you stay warm? Love, Lucy" Santa writes back to tell her about the matching red coats that keep him and Mrs. Claus warm, and gives Lucy one of her very own!

Through the years, Lucy writes to Santa with different questions, and both his notes and his gifts to her show just how well he knows and cares about her. Finally, Lucy asks that inevitable question, and her mother lets her in on that little secret that opens up a whole new world of sharing.

I am going to add this book to our collection, but among the nonfiction, so it is less likely to be browsed by a young one whose parents want to believe in Santa a bit longer. Always the parents' choice! If yours are ready to take that next step into feeling like part of the adult world, or if they have grown up knowing all along, this book is a wonderful conversation starter, and one they will go back to time and again. Just make copies of the notes, so you can replace them when they inevitably get lost - or, have the kids write their own letters and responses!

So, what about you? How did you find out about Santa? Or did I just spoil it for you? I was kind of a brat. I suspected at a rather young age, and asked my parents, who turned it back on me with, "What do you think?" I hazarded a "no", and they confirmed it. I immediately ran upstairs and broke the news to my baby brother, probably ruining Christmas for him forever. Tell me your stories in the comments!

No comments:

Post a Comment