What do you think?
Rate this book
Jerry Pallotta's Holiday Books
Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight?
Bestselling author Jerry Pallotta reveals how and why Santa Claus selected the perfect animals--reindeer--to pull his sleigh on Christmas Eve.
Santa Claus has a big job to do on Christmas Eve, and he needs a team to help with the sleigh. He tries out a myriad of thirteen different kinds of animals, including tigers (but they almost eat him), mice (too weak), kangaroos (too jumpy), turtles (too slow), cheetahs (too fast), rhinos (too rough), and even monkeys (too playful). But what about... reindeer? Perfect!
This humorous peek behind the scenes at the North Pole is told in Jerry Pallotta's kid-friendly style and beautifully illustrated in glorious color by David Biedrzycki.
Santa Claus has a big job to do on Christmas Eve, and he needs a team to help with the sleigh. He tries out a myriad of thirteen different kinds of animals, including tigers (but they almost eat him), mice (too weak), kangaroos (too jumpy), turtles (too slow), cheetahs (too fast), rhinos (too rough), and even monkeys (too playful). But what about... reindeer? Perfect!
This humorous peek behind the scenes at the North Pole is told in Jerry Pallotta's kid-friendly style and beautifully illustrated in glorious color by David Biedrzycki.
32 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
About the author
Jerry Pallotta
269 books117 followersMy full name is Gerard Larry Pallotta but my mom always called me "Jerry". I was born on March 26, 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts. My mom's name is Mary, and she came from a family of ten children. My dad's name is Joe, and he came from a family of five children. My grandparents were immigrants of Italian descent. I have the nicest parents in the world. They have always been unselfish and ready to help me, even today. I have four brothers and two sisters: Joey, David, Andrew, Danny, Cindy and Mickey. I have seventy-two first cousins. When I was growing up, there were...KIDS EVERYWHERE!
My family moved to Medford, Massachusetts when I was young. I went to elementary school at Mt. Trinity Academy, not far from where my publisher is located in Watertown, Massachusetts. I never wrote a book in elementary school, and we never kept journals. In the neighborhood where I grew up, almost every family had seven to nine children. I guess that you could say that there were...KIDS EVERYWHERE!
I went to high school at Boston College High School, a Jesuit all-boys school in downtown Boston. The priests and other teachers were really wonderful. I played football and ran track. I had a great high school experience and I think later it made my studies in college much easier. My sons Neil and Eric graduated from Boston College High School in 2001 and 2003. Neil was named after a teacher I had, Fr. Neil Callahan, S.J. I never wrote a book in high school, and I never wrote for the school newspaper. I was too shy and was afraid of what other kids would think.
After high school I went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. I majored in business, a subject that would help me later in life when I decided to publish my first book. At Georgetown, I met my wife, Linda. In college I was an average student and was captain of the Georgetown University Rugby Team. I never wrote for the college newspaper, and I never imaged writing books. A couple of years later, Linda and I got married and I started to work at an insurance company in Boston. During the first six years of being married, we had four kids. It seemed like there were...KIDS EVERYWHERE!
Today, we spend a lot of time with my 31 nieces and nephews...again...KIDS EVERYWHERE!
I learned valuable skills while talking to people, selling insurance and collecting money. When I came home from work, Linda would ask me to "read to the kids!" I loved reading to my kids and I learned to appreciate children's books. The first few books that we bought were alphabet books and counting books. "A" was always for Apple and "Z" was always for Zebra. One day I decided, "Hey, I can do this!" I had an idea. I would write an alphabet book about the Atlantic Ocean. I spent every summer at Peggotty Beach in Scituate, Massachusetts. I have great memories of lobstering, fishing, mossing, clamming and rowing in my dory.
My first book was written in 1985 when I was 32 years old. I came up with the idea, wrote it, designed it, researched it, edited it and my cousin, Frank Mazzola, Jr. illustrated it. I published it myself under the name of Peggotty Beach Books. What fun! It was first printed on July 7, 1986. I'll never forget that day. The book eventually became the #1 best selling book at the New England Aquarium. I was afraid that only my mother would like it. Teachers and kids told me they really liked my book.
While speaking in schools, teachers also told me they were looking for simple non-fiction nature books. It gave me the confidence to write more. My next book, "The Icky Bug Alphabet Book", has sold more than 1 million copies. My third book, "The Bird Alphabet Book" was voted one of the best books of the year by Birders World Magazine. I now have over twenty alphabet books. My goal has always been to write interesting, fact-filled, fun to read, beautifully illustrated color children's books. Thank you to all my illustrators: Ralph Masiello, Frank Mazzola, Jr., Rob Bolster, Edgar Stewart, Leslie
My family moved to Medford, Massachusetts when I was young. I went to elementary school at Mt. Trinity Academy, not far from where my publisher is located in Watertown, Massachusetts. I never wrote a book in elementary school, and we never kept journals. In the neighborhood where I grew up, almost every family had seven to nine children. I guess that you could say that there were...KIDS EVERYWHERE!
I went to high school at Boston College High School, a Jesuit all-boys school in downtown Boston. The priests and other teachers were really wonderful. I played football and ran track. I had a great high school experience and I think later it made my studies in college much easier. My sons Neil and Eric graduated from Boston College High School in 2001 and 2003. Neil was named after a teacher I had, Fr. Neil Callahan, S.J. I never wrote a book in high school, and I never wrote for the school newspaper. I was too shy and was afraid of what other kids would think.
After high school I went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. I majored in business, a subject that would help me later in life when I decided to publish my first book. At Georgetown, I met my wife, Linda. In college I was an average student and was captain of the Georgetown University Rugby Team. I never wrote for the college newspaper, and I never imaged writing books. A couple of years later, Linda and I got married and I started to work at an insurance company in Boston. During the first six years of being married, we had four kids. It seemed like there were...KIDS EVERYWHERE!
Today, we spend a lot of time with my 31 nieces and nephews...again...KIDS EVERYWHERE!
I learned valuable skills while talking to people, selling insurance and collecting money. When I came home from work, Linda would ask me to "read to the kids!" I loved reading to my kids and I learned to appreciate children's books. The first few books that we bought were alphabet books and counting books. "A" was always for Apple and "Z" was always for Zebra. One day I decided, "Hey, I can do this!" I had an idea. I would write an alphabet book about the Atlantic Ocean. I spent every summer at Peggotty Beach in Scituate, Massachusetts. I have great memories of lobstering, fishing, mossing, clamming and rowing in my dory.
My first book was written in 1985 when I was 32 years old. I came up with the idea, wrote it, designed it, researched it, edited it and my cousin, Frank Mazzola, Jr. illustrated it. I published it myself under the name of Peggotty Beach Books. What fun! It was first printed on July 7, 1986. I'll never forget that day. The book eventually became the #1 best selling book at the New England Aquarium. I was afraid that only my mother would like it. Teachers and kids told me they really liked my book.
While speaking in schools, teachers also told me they were looking for simple non-fiction nature books. It gave me the confidence to write more. My next book, "The Icky Bug Alphabet Book", has sold more than 1 million copies. My third book, "The Bird Alphabet Book" was voted one of the best books of the year by Birders World Magazine. I now have over twenty alphabet books. My goal has always been to write interesting, fact-filled, fun to read, beautifully illustrated color children's books. Thank you to all my illustrators: Ralph Masiello, Frank Mazzola, Jr., Rob Bolster, Edgar Stewart, Leslie
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
April 5, 2011
This is one of the funniest children's books I've ever read...the illustrations were crack up funny for my 4 year old!
December 14, 2021
This one was a little comedy of errors with different animals, but there wasn't much of a story. Not bad, just a little underwhelming.
December 12, 2022
A little different from your traditional Santa Claus story. A good Christmas bedtime story if nothing else.
December 30, 2023
Simple and silly.
Santa Claus auditions various animals to pull his sleigh, and almost all of them fail spectacularly.
Santa Claus auditions various animals to pull his sleigh, and almost all of them fail spectacularly.
November 28, 2021
The dolphins were really smart but, splash! They took me for a swim.
December 8, 2021
My kids get a mild kick out of this silly book every Christmas. That being said, if I donate it this year, I don't think they will even remember it next year. The text is sparse and lackluster. Most of the storytelling is done through the vibrant illustrations.
December 5, 2017
I honestly loved this book. I read it with PreK. It left a lot of room for interaction with the kids so as long as you have kids willing to participate it should go over well.
December 7, 2017
What is with illustrators not knowing the difference between monkeys (they have TAILS) and chimpanzees (NO tails)?
December 18, 2017
I love this book about what animal is right to guide santa's sleigh. Kids really get into who should not do it. toddler and up
December 23, 2017
So funny, great illustrations, many opportunities for extensions.
November 26, 2018
Amazing last page!
Cute idea, but I didn't enjoy the illustration style.
Cute idea, but I didn't enjoy the illustration style.
December 26, 2018
Fun to read out loud because you can involve the kids easily, but it wasn't my favorite
April 2, 2020
Santa tries out different animals to pull his sleigh before he decides on reindeer. Cute.
December 8, 2020
Funny Christmas book for animal lovers.
December 17, 2020
A fun look at how Santa decides who can pull his sleigh.
A great read-aloud.
A great read-aloud.
January 4, 2021
I read all eight of Jerry Pallotta's holiday books to my grandkids and we loved them all! The glorious color illustrations by David Biedrzycki are amazing.
December 11, 2022
Humorous.
December 18, 2022
My niece's favorite were the monkeys. I shall say no more.
December 22, 2018
This is an amusing book in which Santa tries out many different animal teams before settling on reindeer; e. g., tigers, dolphins, mice, etc. Of course, no animal is just right until he chooses reindeer. The text is very minimal, with only a couple of sentences per page, making this a good choice for very young children. The illustrations by David Biedrzycki do a great job of capturing and even exaggerating the humor of the text. Most of the illustrations are in double-page spreads, further extending the humor.
December 30, 2012
The gist : Santa needs help pulling his sleigh. He tries lots of different animals to help him with the task.
MY rating : 3.5 stars (ish)
my PRESCHOOL STUDENT'S rating +5 stars. They absolutely LOVE it!
Without question, their favorite part is when Santa tries to use Monkeys. Santa gets after them and says "Stop it. Don't look at my underwear!"
My favorite part is when Santa tries Rhinos. I always ask the kids if they think their mommies and daddies would like Santa to come, if he made a giant hole in their house! I also really enjoy the hidden pictures.
MY rating : 3.5 stars (ish)
my PRESCHOOL STUDENT'S rating +5 stars. They absolutely LOVE it!
Without question, their favorite part is when Santa tries to use Monkeys. Santa gets after them and says "Stop it. Don't look at my underwear!"
My favorite part is when Santa tries Rhinos. I always ask the kids if they think their mommies and daddies would like Santa to come, if he made a giant hole in their house! I also really enjoy the hidden pictures.
Read
September 6, 2013This is a great book to read around Christmas. Santa needs help flying his sleigh, so he tries thirteen different animals. Each animal doesn't work out for their own reasons. I know of a good visualization strategy that has been used with the book. Have the students draw a picture of each animal (without letting them see the pictures). Then go back and re-read the story allowing them to see the pictures. At the end hang the pictures up and have a gallery walk. I have heard that students respond well to the activity.
December 9, 2016
Santa needs help with his sleigh and considers various animals for the job. The tigers almost eat him, the skunks are too smelly, and so on. Young listeners will enjoy seeing all the different animals like dolphins attempt to pull the sleigh. At the end, the reindeer are chosen. Observant readers will notice and appreciate that the lead reindeer has a bright red nose. An entertaining Christmas story that will be a fun read aloud for a holiday story time.
April 30, 2009
A classmate brought this book in as part of her Literacy History presentation on her daughters. This was a very fun book. I really enjoyed the silliness of using different kinds of animals to pull Santa's sleigh. It is a great animal book as well as a great Christmas book, without getting all deep about the meaning of Christmas.
December 9, 2015
This is a great book on prediction and problem solving for the holidays with the littles. They really enjoy seeing Santa's journey to the reindeer. The illustrations are so detailed, they can's stay in their places, because they just have to point out that thing you didn't discuss. It's a great book!
March 18, 2010
This book is okay, young children might enjoy it.
I read this book while I was in the library. My friend and I were reading little kids books to pass time and see if they were any good. This one was okay but the part where the butterflys guided the sleigh was kinda weird.
I read this book while I was in the library. My friend and I were reading little kids books to pass time and see if they were any good. This one was okay but the part where the butterflys guided the sleigh was kinda weird.
January 3, 2019
Jerry Pallotta has found his groove with his hilariousChristmas and Halloween "supposes". Gotta love David Biedrzycki's brightly dramatice & whimsical illustrations. Kids of all ages will get a kick out of this.
December 20, 2008
We thought this was clever and some of the pictures and ideas were very funny.
December 16, 2012
December 2012: Reread as part of our "24 Days of Christmas Stories."
December 2008: So that's why Santa chose reindeer to guide his sleigh! My kids love this, especially my 2 1/2 year old!
December 2008: So that's why Santa chose reindeer to guide his sleigh! My kids love this, especially my 2 1/2 year old!
January 20, 2009
Very cute book. It looks at the personalities of different animals and how they would work as guides for Santa's sleigh.
December 7, 2009
This is a cute one. Love the illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews