Santa and the Sled Dogs

PreS-Gr 2–“On, Luna! On, Ludo! On, Mia and Apollo! On, Max! On, Sadie! On, Brutus and Calypso!” It’s almost Christmas, but this year Santa will not lead his seasoned team of reindeer. A young girl with pale skin and curly brown hair is elated that Santa has come to borrow her family’s sled dogs to guide his sleigh on Christmas Eve. However, she ponders the logistics: How will the dogs fly? Her mom lovingly reassures her, “That’s the magic part… Sometimes we just have to trust.” Leaving nothing to chance, the young girl ties icy blue magic stones to each dog to help guide their way. Will it be enough to help the dogs take flight on Christmas Eve? Nostalgic, painted illustrations infuse color into a rural winter wonderland, depicting sweeping snowy landscapes and frolicking, gleeful dogs. However, the harmony between the illustrations and narrative suffers. The lengthy first-person narrative works overtime to tell the story, undermining the illustrations’ role to share in the storytelling. Meanwhile, the buildup to the anticipated Christmas Eve flight doesn’t take off, as the narrative rushes to a swift, simplistic conclusion.