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Brave Santaby Nancy Poydar Ages 3-6 Buy on Amazon It's almost Christmas. Jack is excited, but nervous too. He doesn't want to have to talk to Santa. So when his parents take him to visit Santa at the mall, Jack slips behind a curtain. Much to his surprise, another shy person is also hiding. You'll never guess who! |
Kirkus Reviews Plenty of children are nervous (or downright petrified) about the traditional visit to Santa Claus to convey toy requests and pose for photos. Poydar adroitly addresses this common concern through the story of Jack, a shy little boy with glasses who is nervous about talking to people he doesn't know. His father role-plays with Jack so he can prepare to visit Santa, a technique that Jack employs when he finds Santa paralyzed with shyness himself behind the curtains surrounding his special chair at the mall. The concepts of shyness, courage, and practicing for a difficult social interchange are skillfully integrated into the story, which treats shyness respectfully-though shyness isn't always a stage that's outgrown, as the text indicates. Cheerfully bright paintings are filled with holiday decorations and patterns, with a cast of ethnically diverse children waiting for their turn with Santa. A joyous concluding spread shows a view of Jack's dream on Christmas Eve, with Jack driving a toy-laden fire engine through the sky, with Santa in the back seat. (Picture book. 3-6) — Kirkus
PreS-A simple and satisfying story about what can be a scary event for some children. A shy preschooler is apprehensive about talking to Santa, so his parents suggest that he practice asking for what he wants. On a visit to the mall, Jack accidentally bumps into Santa, who is hiding from the kids "because he is not feeling brave" about meeting them. Jack suggests that the big man role-play with him and both overcome their fears. -M. W. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. — School Library Lournal
Jack happily throws himself into the pre-Christmas festivities, that is, that don't require him to interact with anyone besides his parents. The prospect of sitting on Santa's lap to confide his wish is so daunting to the shy little boy that his father guides him through a practice session. When the moment of truth arrives, Jack ducks behind a curtain at the department store only to find that Santa is hiding out, too: "I only talk to children once a year. All those boys and girls! Oh, dear!" Jack mentors him in the art of Santa-ing, and soon they can both face the ordeal with confidence. Adults may wonder how this particular Santa ever passed his employment screening, but little believers are unlikely to be so critical. Certainly there's some intrinsic logic to shyness in the secular namesake of Saint Nicholas, who was reputed to perform acts of largess on the sly. Poydar's thickly brushed paintings are as buoyant (and frequently cluttered) as the holiday itself, and liberal dashes of icy white bring out the shine in everything from icicles to nose tips to the lenses in Jack's horn-rimmed specs. If it took over sixteen hundred years for St. Nick to shed his shyness, there's plenty of hope for timid tykes. EB — The Bullitin of the Center for Children's Books