Could That Be an Elf?

PreS–Two children, a girl with tan skin and brown hair and a boy with brown skin and dark hair, go on a little adventure to locate an elusive elf and make a Christmas wish. This elf turns out to be a hard figure to pin down. An elflike shape appears through a window, but it turns out to be a puppy bundled up. Then, what appears to be an elf is actually a big basket of candy canes. What looks like an elf’s toes hiding behind a wall is a Christmas stocking belonging to a family of mice decorating for the holiday. With ­every turn, readers get to view a different warm and vibrantly illustrated scene. At the end, the kids finally spot the elf while they hang sparkling lights on the tree. Reading this story can feel like playing a peekaboo game for young ones as they engage with the cut-out holes on the pages. The hide-and-seek pacing of this elf-finding mission should work well for story times.