Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... Silver Falls Library | JP KELLEY | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Christmas Picture Book Kelley | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The hilarious Christmas story of a dog who rids a young Santa of his slacker ways.It's Christmastime, and young Santa is doing a lot of sitting around. Every now and then he'll eat some fruitcake or watch TV, but the elves and Santa's dog, Rodney, do all the work. When Christmas Eve arrives and Santa falls asleep in the sleigh, Rodney takes charge. Soon, the determined dog has the North Pole buzzing with efficiency, and he even gives Santa lessons about what to eat to lookjolly and how to drive a sleigh. But will Rodney ever get Santa Claus to start doing his job?
Author Notes
True Kelley is a children's author and illustrator. She has a fun-filled watercolor style which includes several in the Let's -Read and Find -Out series. She has also worked on What Makes a Magnet and What the Moon is Like. Her title's include Who was Leonardo da Vinci?, Who was George Washington?, Who was Abigail Adams?, and Buggly Bear's Hiccup Cure.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This funny book looks back at how the young Santa was a "major slacker" who delivered toys in a haphazard fashion and left messes behind before falling asleep on the job. After complaint letters come pouring in, Santa's trusty dog takes matters into his own paws. Using a self-help video, he gets Santa to straighten up and fly right to become the icon he is today. The cartoon artwork, done in acrylic, watercolors, and colored pencils, captures the endearing pup's antics and will give readers the giggles. An amusing, if silly, addition to most holiday collections.-Diane Olivo-Posner, Long Beach Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Preschool, Primary) "'Twas the night before Christmas, and Santa's elves were swamped." Christmas Eve is no night for slackers, and who's the laziest do-nothing in the workshop? Santa, here a callow youth. It's up to his dogged assistant Rodney to keep Christmas on track and motivate the young Santa to become the industrious legend he is today. This cheeky send-up of holiday sloth is stronger on detail than plot, but sitcom-savvy kids will enjoy the irreverence, considerably and expertly helped along by Kelley's illustrations of a Christmas in chaos. Rumpled mutt Rodney, a dim-looking Santa, and elves who appear to have escaped from the Keebler factory provide a fresh alternative to Christmas sweetness. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this unusual holiday interpretation, Santa is a young and callow fellow who doesn't really care about getting the job done on Christmas Eve. His faithful dog, Rodney, and the hardworking elves work frantically to accomplish all the holiday tasks, while Santa snoozes in the sleigh. After Christmas, Rodney takes matters in hand and orders a self-help video that inspires him (but not Santa), and then the resourceful dog teaches his owner some new tricks with a comical self-improvement plan. Rodney turns off the TV, puts Santa on a healthy diet and an exercise program and even sends him to driver's ed. During these improvements, Santa's beard grows in, indicating his increasing maturity, and by the final spread he's become the familiar white-bearded, hardworking Santa, driving the sleigh with Rodney relaxing in the back seat. Though it's a little strange to see an adolescent slacker Santa, Kelley pulls it off with her droll humor in both text and illustrations, aided by a memorable canine characterwho's not done reforming holiday icons yet. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This tale, which would have been more accurately titled The Dog Who Saved Santa from Himself, highlights the efforts of a pooch to transform a certain young, red-suited slacker into the jolly and industrious old elf we know and love. In the wake of a disastrous Christmas Eve during which Santa spends most of his time snoozing in the sleigh, his frazzled dog, Rodney, sends off for a set of self-help videos. He then not only proceeds to reorganize the chaotic workshop but also puts his master through a relentless series of drills and motivational talks. By the following Christmas, Santa, portrayed in Kelley's cartoon illustrations as a slouching, beardless child at the beginning, has acquired a reformed attitude along with the requisite belly and facial hair. Everyone who benefits from Santa's annual visits owes Rodney the most engaging Christmas canine since the star of J. Otto Seibold's Olive, the Other Reindeer (1997) a vote of thanks.--Peters, John Copyright 2008 Booklist