How Carrot and Cookie Saved Christmas

Gr 1-3--It's Christmas Eve, and best friends Carrot and Cookie don't have gifts for each other yet. Each one consults a friend: Carrot asks Pickle, who says, "It's no big dill," while Cookie asks Cupcake, whose ideas are a bit "half-baked." Carrot and Cookie gather for their annual sleepover and are about to tell each other the sad truth, when Santa lands his sleigh outside with a jolly "Ho-ho-ho...achoo!" They rush out to find Santa sneezing and, to their wide-eyed amazement, about to cancel Christmas. Carrot muses, "If reindeer can fly, why can't vegetables?" It turns out they can, and Carrot urges them on to pull Santa's sleigh: "On Eggplant! On Scallion! On Corn and Zucchini! On Lettuce! On Okra! And on Broccolini!" Christmas is saved. This pun-filled romp with delightfully goofy characters and charming illustrations will crack kids up with its silly humor. Sharp-eyed readers will also notice visual puns scattered throughout the book, such as googly-eyed candy canes serving as sleigh runners. The one unexplained oddity--why Santa and his reindeer appear to be made of gingerbread--is a minor flaw in an otherwise worthwhile story. VERDICT A warmhearted holiday story of an unexpected friendship, filled with silly puns and lots of laughs.--Haley Amendt

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A sweet treat for the holiday shelves.