Published by Candlewick

Summary:  A little fox out hunting accidentally falls through the roof of a house buried in the snow.  He’s rescued by a pair of red-clad arms belonging to an old, tired-looking man with a white beard.  After getting comfortable, the fox settles in at the end of the man’s bed, and the two enjoy a long winter’s nap.  With the arrival of warmer weather, they wake up, and the man gets to work building all kinds of things to fill his empty shelves.  As the days start to grow short again, snow arrives along with a blizzard of letters.  The man reads each one, using them as a guide to fill his bag.  On Christmas Eve, he hitches up his reindeer, and the fox accompanies Santa Claus as he rides his sleigh into the night sky.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  This became my go-to holiday book to read to my PreK-1 students.  They enjoyed gathering clues with the fox to learn Santa’s identity and job.  The pictures at the end will certainly get everyone in the Christmas spirit.

Cons:  The fox seemed a bit slow to catch on. The clues are all there, but he doesn’t completely catch on until he’s taking off in the sleigh with Santa and the reindeer.