Dear Santa

by Rod Campbell

When a young child asks Santa for the perfect gift, Santa outdoes himself to find a present not too big, bouncy, or noisy, in a book with a touch-and-feel surprise on the last page.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday

16 pages, Board Book

Published October 12, 2004

About the author

He was brought up in Zimbabwe and returned to Britain where he completed a doctorate in organic chemistry. In 1980 he became involved in children's publishing where he began designing innovative books with interactive elements and repetitive phrases.

In 1987 he founded Campbell Blackie Books in partnership with his publisher Blackie. Campbell Books (as it became in 1989) was sold in 1995 to Macmillan Publishers.

Reviews

[Jenna Mills]

Basic but fun. I don't think giving animals for Christmas is ideal though

[Brittany]

The kids at Toddler Time got the BIGGEST kick out of pulling open the flaps. *Also the very last "present" was a big hit because they could pet it!

[Rose]

Rod Campbell's book follows the same structure as his other popular book Dear Zoo. This is a delightful flap book whereby Santa is deciding on a present to send but for some reason or another the presents he wraps are not quite right. Santa finally arrives at a perfect present with an extra special surprise under the flap. I really enjoyed this book for its interactive aspect and believe children will enjoy guessing what could be hidden beneath the flaps.

I believe this book could be useful for a class teacher to have as a special treat to read to the whole class. It is a very engaging book for children aged 3-5 years because it can allow children to guess what the presents could be by the descriptions given in the book. Furthermore, children will enjoy having the chance to come up and lift the flaps to discover the gifts. This book is a good introduction to descriptive language and is repetitive making it a useful book for guided reading.

[Cat]

Just read this to my preschoolers! They enjoyed it very much! They loved guessing what might be in each package that Santa wrapped, but changed his mind about! Very funny little tale for little ones!

[OxoNewbie]

A lift-the-flap book about writing to Santa. Very imaginative. My little one loved this book.

5 stars.

[jade]

(babysitting)

[Addie]

2 year old loved this and had me read it to her a second time right away. It's a pretty cute simple book.

[Bev]

An oldie but definitely a goodie today; you have probably heard of (and maybe even know off by heart....no? just me then!) Rod Campbell's book for younger children Dear Zoo, well Dear Santa is the festive reworking of it. Santa is trying to choose a presend to bring but rejects many for different reasons - the finger paints are too messy, the ball is too bouncy, the tiger mask is too scary etc Eventually after discarding all the unsuitable gifts he finally brings a pet - a lovely ginger cat. There's a piece of fake fur incorporated into the picture too so you can actually stroke the kitty. Little ones already familiar with Dear Zoo will find Dear Santa a delight and if they aren't familiar with Dear Zoo......why the heck not?!

[The Library Mouse Tales]

This is a classic lift-the-flap book that toddlers will love. It is very similar to ‘Dear Zoo’ but this time the reader has to lift the flaps to open the presents and find out what Santa has sent. Will the perfect present be waiting at the end of the book?

This has bright, colourful artwork and simple text that small children will enjoy. There is also a touch-and-feel surprise in the final gift. This is a sturdy board book with strong card flaps which make is suitable for 2-4 year olds to enjoy.

[Sarah A]

We love the Rod Campbell books! This is the Christmas one which we bring back out every year. A child writes to Santa for something special. Along similar lines to Dear Zoo, Santa tries various items but says no to each until he chooses the best present.
My only objection to his books is why does it have to be a successful present of an animal each time. I understand it is how he writes but one day I want one that says the perfect ending is not a new pet.

[Ernest]

This wonderful little book held much delight for my friends' young son, as we all together went through the book, lifting the flaps to unwrap each present. The interactivity was well received (I'm not sure how much of the actual text he was taking in) and it was a treat to share in the fun book with them.

(Additionally as it turns out, I'm horribly behind on my reviews generally, as the timing on this book will indicate!)

[Samantha]

Reads like Dear Zoo, but in this book Santa sends gift after gift to a child before he decides on just the right special something.

I like the way the text doesn't give away the contents of each gift and also the simple explanations for why a given gift wasn't the right gift. Great gift book or read aloud for PreK-2.

[Laura]

Like Dear Zoo, this book has a simple concept, and my kids have loved it. In this one Santa is making a decision about what to send a child for Christmas, and at the end there is an extra surprise of a texture for kids to touch. I love the size of the book, the ease of the flaps, and the fact that it engages kids to interact with it.

[Mama Bearian]

Santa considers what present to send, wrapping them and then reconsidering. There is a flap to lift on each page, meant to act as opening the present. The last present has a touch-and-feel suprise.

Although it is not as good as the original "Dear Zoo," fans of the original will enjoy this version with a holiday twist.

[Wayne Farmer]

A lovely little Christmas book and its nice to have an extra touchy feely element to it, but the final present is a little morally wrong. Pets should never be given as Christmas presents! Still my 10 month old loved it

[Lex Redding]

"Again", "again" was what my one year old exclaimed every time we finished reading this. I just can't quite give a rating of five stars as I can't get over Santa giving the reader a cat... That's one way to set expectations around pets, hahahaha.

[Ricarda Krenn]

I got this for my one-year-old. She loved the different-sized flaps and the texture on the final page. Her big brother enjoyed guessing what was wrong with each present.

A nice, simple book for little ones, good for learning basic adjectives.

[Sam]

Stanley loves this book

[Cheryl]

Very cute book. I like how you flip the page and you open each present and it's just not quite right until the end!

[Bex]

Written in a similar way to "Dear Zoo" by the same author a quick read for any child who loves pop-up books. Very cute & the kiddy gets a kitten at the end :3

[Paul]

Dear Santa,

Please send Rod Campbell a sequel to 'Dear Zoo', but seal a cat in a non-porous, gift-wrapped container this time.

[Mary]

Like Campbell's Dear Zoo, this is a lift-the-flap board book about finding the just-right gift. A fun book to share with little ones as they try to guess what is under each flap.

[James Koppert]

Simple, fun and pretty. You know its a winner when the kids ask to read it again when you finish

[Niamh Griffin]

Clever and fun

[Paul]

Really enjoyed reading this book. I like the surprise at the end with the furry cat. Definitely an interesting read and good for children in lifting the flaps.

[Patricia Gmitrovic]

Great follow up of Dear Zoo

[Jj]

Yep, it's basically Dear Zoo for Christmas. Since I am a fan of the aforementioned book, I also enjoyed this one! Perfect for the baby/toddler audiences.

[Miss Kelly]

Christmas Books 2017

[Catherine]

See review on my blog.

http://buildinglifelongreaders.blogsp...

[Paul]

Good book to read with kids.