Маленький Санта

by Yoko Maruyama, Йоко Маруяма, Катерина Міхаліцина (translator)

Понад усе на світі маленький Санта мріє хоч раз зустріти Різдво зі своїм татом — Санта Клаусом. Але щороку татусь страшенно заклопотаний: стільки подарунків потрібно роздати дітям за ніч, до стількох осель навідатися! Невже й цьогоріч Санта-молодший сидітиме вдома сам-один?..

Зворушлива книжка-картинка японської ілюстраторки Йоко Маруями, яку вона створила у мандрах Скандинавією, розповідає про подарунки й дари, добре серце та неймовірні бажання, що справджуються в різдвяний час.

Більше про книжку https://starylev.com.ua/malenkyy-santa.

Genres: Picture Books, Christmas, Childrens, Holiday, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Santa Claus's son. He makes a wish to spend Christmas with his father. On the morning of Christmas Eve Santa trips and falls, possibly fracturing his ankle. The only one left to deliver the gifts is Little Santa. Santa Claus thinks it is a swell idea and off goes Little Santa in the sleigh with the presents.

The full-page illustrations will captivate young readers as they learn a different tale of Christmas. I only wish the text was either bolder or a different color on the dark pages, making it easier to read. The book would be great read aloud in a reading circle.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young boy shares the secret that his father is Santa Claus in this gentle, heartwarming holiday picture-book from Japanese author/illustrator Yoko Maruyama. Although having Santa for a dad can often be fun, on Christmas Eve the boy is always lonely, leading him to wish that this year he can spend the evening with his father. But when Santa falls and injures himself, rather than staying home, the boy volunteers to take his place as the holiday gift-giver, doing a marvelous job. It is only at the end of his night's journey that he encounters a child for whom he has no gift. Fortunately, his father appears at a crucial moment, with the magic to fulfill the girl's wish, and some wisdom to impart about the double meaning of the word "gift," which can mean either a present or a talent.

It's hard to believe that Little Santa is a debut for Yoko Maruyama, as its skillful pairing of an emotionally resonant narrative with soft, lovely artwork marks it as an excellent new contribution to the picture-book genre. I enjoyed the story here, and thought the artwork was simply beautiful. Maruyama isn't afraid of the white on her page, and many of her spreads feature plenty of "blank" space that makes the colors used stand out all the more. She also isn't afraid of using deeper, more vividly colored backgrounds, as in her nighttime scenes. My only criticism of the book would be that the print size is a little small, and the words are sometimes hard to distinguish, on the pages utilizing darker background colors. Leaving that aside, this is a sweet little holiday tale, one I would recommend to anyone looking for new picture-books about Christmas and/or Santa Claus.

[Анна Полегенько · Rating 5 out of 5]

Мила різдвяна історія

[Oleksandr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Історія хлопчика, тато якого був Санта Клаусом. На Різдво хлопчик постійно лишався один вдома, тому що його тато розвозив подарунки.Одного Святвечора тато Санта Клаус зламав ногу, а маленький хлопчик розвіз подарунки замість Санти.
Мені не сподобалося, що хлопчик постійно був один на свята. Не дуже приємно бути Сантою і залазити в каміни.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, just wow! This story took me by surprise. Very heart-warming and sweet. I even cried towards the end. There is a moment towards the end that really makes this story - you'll know what I mean when you get to it. Lovely, lovely story. This will definitely be a keeper.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

That cover! The illustrations are magical in this story of Santa's child having to take over for dad on Christmas Eve. The plot leaves questions--where is Mrs. Claus? Where is everyone else? but the magic prevails in a tale that there are two meanings to the word "gift". Very sweet.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is lovely, but the story overly saccharine. The artist's obsession with obscuring Santa's face becomes awkward and the effect is creepy. The visit to the dilapidated home and the poor girl who lives there plays off the reader's pity rather than empathy.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and original story of Santa's son taking over the job and getting his wish in the end. Great story, nice illustrations, but it can be difficult to read because the text is fairly small and is at times black over a dark background. Other than that, a great holiday book.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be cutesy, but it was not. Turned serious at the end, but still good.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The print is really tiny, reads slowly and there is too much text.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, really softly illustrated story of Santa Claus' son, who feels neglected on Christmas Eve and wishes to spend the night with his father.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, sentimental, nostalgic. I was glad when santa caught up with the boy because him helping out with the presents still meant they wouldn’t be together!!

[Miss Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas Books 2017

Would have been better without that gift at the end.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a confession. I don't like Santa. I find the concept manipulative, elitist, and slightly creepy. (Don't I sound like fun?) The likelihood that I would like - really like - a book called Little Santa is extremely slim. And yet, here we are. I picked up the book because of the cover art; it's simple and appealing and not remotely sentimental. And it starts with a bang! "I have a secret. No one else knows, but my dad is really Santa Claus." And what would any child of Santa Claus want? How about to have his dad home for Christmas? But then, how would the presents get delivered? Some wishes do come true ... both for the son of Saint Nick and another child who has a simple yet hard-to-deliver wish. It's a Christmas miracle! I'm recommending a book about Santa!

[Milena Baglyk-Pogorelaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Тепла та добра різдвяна історія для дітей з чудовими ілюстраціями.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are great! I really enjoyed the story, too. Santa's young son wants to spend Christmas with him, but ends up needing to deliver all the presents himself! The last present is making it snow for a little girl. More literary in style, but I really liked it