Auntie Claus, Home for the Holidays
Kindergarten-Grade 4–Can you really have your cake and eat it, too? Sophie Kringle's Auntie Claus (Santa's sister) certainly thinks so. When Sophie has the opportunity to play the Sugar Plum Fairy in her school's presentation ofThe Nutcracker, she is thrilled, but also sad, because her favorite aunt will be away on her annual &business; trip. Not true, insists Auntie Claus. They'll just move the North Pole to New York City. It sounds like a good idea, but of course chaos ensues. Ghosts (Christmas Past, Present, and Future), elves, reindeer, and the real Sugar Plum Fairy descend upon the Bing Cherry Hotel, and the city is covered with snow and ice. As always, Primavera's exuberant and stylized acrylic paintings fill each page with color and excitement, and interesting details reward careful viewers. Fans of the first two Auntie Claus stories will not be disappointed.–Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public LibraryEND