Christmas under construction

PreS-Gr 3--Classic Christmas characters demonstrate how to work together to overcome challenges. When a winter storm knocks down Santa's workshop, leaving the elves out in the cold on Christmas Eve, Santa and Mrs. Claus have a plan. With help from the reindeers and even the abominable snowman, the elves use traditional holiday confections and construction equipment to build a new workshop, just in time to save Christmas. The illustrations guide the tone of this work. A towering pile of presents patterned in bright red, yellow, blue, and green evokes the traditional sense of excitement associated with Santa's workshop, while the conveyor belts guiding additional presents to the stack underscore the bustle of holiday preparations. When the wind, in swirling lines of white, disrupts the elves' work, the tone shifts to dismay, but not for long. Most of the work is dedicated to a united effort: using a forklift to carry gingerbread walls, a crane to raise candy cane columns, and a bulldozer full of peppermints for decoration, the last-minute plan to save Christmas is successful. A simple, unbounded quatrain rhyming scheme establishes flow, providing a balance between the predictability and surprise of the plot. VERDICT Add this to the construction shelves, Christmas or not.--Maggie Mason Smith

With Santa's workshop blown away in a windy storm, will anyone get presents this year? The elves begin to fret: What will happen to Christmas? Luckily Mrs. Claus has a plan--and some blueprints. Reindeer drive in on rumbling construction trucks and get to work. "But there's no wood to make the walls," exclaims one observant elf. "How will we ever deck these halls?" With large slabs of gingerbread, of course! Jaunty rhymes add a kick to the construction process. "Dasher and Dancer tuck the points. / Sugary mortar fills the joints." But who will help when the roof is too heavy to lift? Good ol' Phil, the abominable snowman. Once the workshop is functional again, the present-making resumes in full force. Christmas is saved! Chaotic bursts of colors from patterned elf caps, sugary candy, and bright lights add to Cleland's overstuffed illustrations, filled with swirling snow and frenetic energy. The panic is palpable, but everyone pitches in and works together to come up with some creative solutions. This may not be the best winding-down, cozy-bedtime story, but those seeking holiday drama will find it here. Santa and his wife are light-skinned, while the elves vary in skin tone. An enticing tale of Yuletide calamity that showcases the power of cooperation.(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.