Dumpy Saves Christmas
Victorious inthe  schoolyardand rescued fromthe  barn, this huggable red dump truck still keeps chugging along--much to the  relief of a stressed-out Santa Claus.The team of Julie "Mary Poppins" Andrews Edwards and her daughter Emma Walton  Hamilton delivers another sweet, simple story from good ol' Merryhill Farm. It's  Christmas Eve, and Charlie's just tucking in Dumpy for the night with a little  help from bushy-bearded Pop-Up and a trusty can of antifreeze. All seems well as  Charlie draws up his wish list and hits the hay early, but then he's awakened by  a startling "THUMP!" at his window. It's Santa, and he's wrecked his sleigh  right on Charlie's roof! What else could possibly hold all those presents and  still keep Santa on schedule? It would take some sort of... dump truck or  something.This dream-sequence tale (ooh, or was it?) doesn't break any new narrative  ground, but the wholesome adventure--along with Tony Walton's unassuming, folksy  illustrations--will please fans of Dumpy and his kind human friends. (Ages 4 to  8)--Paul Hughes