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The Year Without a Santa Claus

by Phyllis McGinley
40p. 978-0-76145-799-2.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3—This new version of McGinley's poem, originally published in 1957, is illustrated with gouache and pencil cartoon artwork that highlights the humor in the text. Santa decides to take a vacation, his first in a thousand years. When the children of the world get the news, most give way to tears. Not Ignatius Thistlewhite, however. He organizes a movement to send gifts to Santa, who is so moved by this response that he gives up his plans and gets back on the sleigh. While the story is a tad long for most storytimes, it nonetheless begs to be shared aloud.—Virginia Walter, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
New ed., 1957, Lippincott. When Santa decides to take his first vacation, the reaction of children around the world surprises him. McGinley's rhyming text was originally published with illustrations by Kurt Werth and later inspired a classic stop-motion animated TV special. This newly illustrated edition maintains all of the original's read-aloud charm while accentuating its playfulness with Manders's vibrant gouache and pencil illustrations.
Reviewed by Virginia Walter , Oct 01, 2010

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