The beloved, multi-award-winning duo of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen tackle a perennial question.
When Santa arrives at a child’s house on Christmas Eve, does he go down the chimney feetfirst or headfirst? What if he gets stuck? What if there’s no chimney? Maybe he slides under the door, as thin as a piece of paper? Or is it possible he pours himself through the faucet? What happens once he’s inside?
Whether it’s shape-shifting or impromptu laundry use, Mac Barnett’s iconic talent for earnest deadpan humor and Jon Klassen’s irresistibly funny art honor the timeless question with answers both ridiculous and plausible, mounting in hilarity as the night continues. Channeling a child’s fanciful explanations (and begging for further speculation), this latest collaboration by a New York Times best-selling team will find a secure spot among family holiday traditions.---from the publisher
32 pages 978-1536223767 Ages 4-8
Keywords: Santa Claus, how things work, Christmas story, humor, fun, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8 year old
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“CM: Yeah! And then, when they flied across da sky, they used ta come down to places like, oh, Chicago, L. A., Nueva York and Pacoima and all those places, y'know, and then land on top of people's roofs, and then 'ol Santa Claus would make himself real small, y'know, like, a real small guy, and he'd come down da chimney and then he would give you all da stuff that hemmade, man. And... Dig this, man... He did it all in one night, man!
TC: Hey, just a minute, man. Now, how'd he do that, man?
CM: Oh, well, man, he took da freeway. How else, man?
TC: No, man. No, man, how'd he do all that other stuff, man? Like, how'd he make himself small, man. And, how'd he, like, how'd he get the reindeer off the ground, man?
CM: Oh, well, man, he had some magic dust, man
TC: Some magic dust?
CM: Yeah, magic dust, y'know? He used ta give a little bit to da reindeer, a little bit to Santa Claus, a little bit more for Santa Claus, a little bit more...
TC: And this would get the reindeer off, man?
CM: Aw, got 'em off, man?!? Are you kidding, man? They flew all da way around da world, man!”
– from “Santa Claus and His Old Lady” Cheech and Chong (1971)
My generation had Cheech and Chong to clue us in to the mysteries of Santa Claus and his Christmas Eve exploits. Today’s youngins have the one-two punch of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. This dynamic duo has fashioned a you’ll-be-rolling-on-the-floor response to the question of how good old Saint Nick gets his jolly Santa girth down untold numbers of chimneys all in one night.
“Does he go headfirst?
Or feetfirst?
Or neither?
Does Santa ever get stuck partway down and need one of the reindeer to give him a kick?
Does his suit get real sooty?
Because chimneys have soot.
And then does Santa do laundry before he goes to the next house?
And if you don’t have a chimney, what happens then?
Maybe Santa knows about the key under the flowerpot, even though nobody is ever, ever, supposed to mention the key under the flowerpot.
So how would he find out about that?
Does he flatten himself and slide under your door?
Or does he flip through the pipes and come out of your faucet?”
Every one of the wild possibilities Mac Barnett poses is accompanied by mind-blowing visuals by his oft-bookmaking-compadre, Caldecott Medalist Jon Klassen. For example, two reindeer up on their hind legs, holding hooves with another reindeer who is at the top of the chimney, stomping down on something below, just out of sight. Or sweet, old Santa sitting in the basement, in his heart boxers, with his old-fashioned anchor tattoo, reading the paper as his Santa suit spins in the dryer. Or the crème de la crème–a stream of Santa pouring out of the kitchen sink faucet while a string of colored lights frames the window behind him.
HOW DOES SANTA GO DOWN THE CHIMNEY? is super-sweet. It’s super-funny. It’ll make for a killer read-aloud (perhaps prefaced by a dramatic reading of Clement Moore’s classic poem). It’s thoroughly engaging, and one that will get kids brainstorming and drawing their own zany possibilities.
Don’t miss it!
Recomnended by: Richie Partington, MLIS, California USA
See more of Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
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It is one of the truths of childhood, accepted without question - on the night of December 24 Santa comes down the chimney (even if your house hasn't got one) and leaves presents under the tree.
But just how does he get down the chimney?
Does he breathe in and tighten his belt? Does he shrink himself small like a mouse? Perhaps he stretches out like toffee and slips in one leg at a time... Does he go feet first or head first? What happens when he gets down? Does he wash his sooty clothes before he goes to the next house? How does he deal with the family dog who might bark and give his presence away? And how does he get back up again????
Multi-award-winning duo of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen have teamed up to ponder the question - one that could easily be put to students before the book is shared - and deliver yet another of their intriguing stories that seem so simple on the surface, that you wonder why they haven't been written before.
But regardless of how he manages his magic, this is one that celebrates the joy of Christmas for children, their acceptance of the impossible simply because they want to believe it’s true, and invites their imagination to soar as they come up with their own explanations and solutions. And , when all is said and done, does it really matter how Santa goes down the chimney? I'm sure that we are all just glad that he can.
Recommended by: Barbara Braxton, Teacher Librarian, New South Wales AUSTRALIA
See more of her recommendations:
500 Hats http://500hats.edublogs.org/
The Bottom Shelf http://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
