Santa’s Secret Helper by Andrew Clements is a clever twist on a familiar traditional story. Santa’s elves are especially busy preparing two sleighs, two Santa suits, and two teams of reindeer because “this year Santa has a secret helper”. Debrah Santini’s watercolors have the hint of sepia palette to complement this time-honored tale of reindeer flying over rooftops delivering gifts around the world. We see Santa’s helper eating cookies, resting the reindeer, and waving to parents who are still awake late at night. The surprise ending may help explain how Santa takes so many packages to happy children in only one night.
This book is read aloud online by Kristn Hubert.
My Picture Book Talk for this story is here.
