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How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Funny possible answers to an age-old Santa question.
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What's the Story?
The question on the cover of HOW DOES SANTA GO DOWN THE CHIMNEY? gets a full investigation with page after page of suggested ways, from cinching up his belt real tight to shrinking to the size of a mouse to sliding through the mail slot as a letter to coming out of the faucet like a big drip of water. The possibilities become ever more absurd as the pages turn.
Is It Any Good?
This deadpan, hilarious holiday book tackles an age-old Santa question, offering a sleighful of answers to delight kids and grown-ups alike. Other questions arise besides How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? as well: "Can Santa see in the dark? Does he wear night-vision goggles that make everything green? I bet he'd like that. Because Santa likes green. Or heat-vision goggles? Because he might like red better." The wackier the speculation the better. When author Mac Barnett wonders if Santa does laundry between houses after his suit gets sooty in the chimney, we see Santa in a family's basement, stripped down to his heart-patterned boxer shorts, socks, and sleeveless undershirt, calmly reading the newspaper as his suit spins in the washing machine.
Barnett is in touch with the kinds of things that might float though a curious kid's imagination. And he couldn't have a better partner than Jon Klassen to provide the visuals for every possibility mentioned. Barnett confesses he doesn't know the true answer to how Santa goes down or goes back up the chimney, "But I'm so glad he can."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the speculation in How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? Which way seems right to you? Or which one do you wish were true? Do you have your own idea of how he does it?
Which picture makes you laugh the most? What's funny about it?
What's fun about asking questions that don't have a definite answer? Why is curiosity a good thing?
Book Details
- Author: Mac Barnett
- Illustrator: Jon Klassen
- Genre: Holiday
- Topics: Holidays
- Character Strengths: Curiosity , Gratitude
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Candlewick
- Publication date: September 12, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 32
- Available on: Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: December 6, 2023
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