FICTION

Dear Santasaurus

by Stacy MCANULTY
illus. by Jef Kaminsky. 32p. Boyds Mills. Oct. 2013. RTE $15.95. ISBN 978-1-59078-876-9. LC 2013931087.
COPY ISBN
Gr 1–3—A young dinosaur writes letters to Santasaurus all year long, starting with a thank-you note in January for toys already long-since broken. Each month brings an update on desired gifts for the coming Christmas, along with examples of his good behavior and excuses for occasional naughtiness. The missives are clever, with just the right tone of childish naïveté, never coming off as greedy or manipulative. Kaminsky lends a deft touch with cartoon illustrations that expand on the humor of the text. The dinos are depicted as expressive, silly, colorful monsters rather than fierce reptiles, and the Christmas tree is a cycad rather than a pine. The book is sure to elicit many laughs at storytime, and possibly inspire kids to keep up their own year-round correspondence with Santa.—Linda Israelson, Los Angeles Public Library
On January 1st, young dinosaur Ernest B. Spinosaurus begins writing letters to Santasaurus thanking him for recent Christmas presents and vowing to stay on the nice list for the whole rest of the year. Subsequent letters are filled with wish lists and confessions of progressively outrageous mischief. Despite his many transgressions, Ernest eventually receives the gift he desires most on Christmas Day, and the letters begin again on the following January 1st. Visual irony augments the comedy: illustrations clearly show that Ernest doesn’t always tell Santa­saurus the whole truth about his troublemaking. Bold black outlines and vibrant colors mark Ernest as a fitting cartoon stand-in
Reviewed by Linda Israelson , Oct 01, 2013

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