Wake Up, Santa Claus!  
Written and illustrated by Marcus Pfister    

Santa oversleeps, can't find his boots, forgets to shovel the walkway, feed the reindeer, bag the presents. Then comes the big clue: Santa's sleigh runners are cracked and rusted. A bad dream is what we have here, and Santa wakes to his alarm clock and finds everything shipshape. Despite Santa's frantic behavior, readers will soon be able to predict that everything that can go wrong will go wrong, and may guess that there's a misunderstanding somewhere.

Level: Ages 3-7

32 pages. Library-bound hardcover
North South Books

Full-color illustrations

Regularly priced at $15.95 each.
Internet special. $13.95 each.

Santa and His Sleigh. Poster by Marcus Pfister
16.5" x 23". $7.50

Book and poster, $21.25.

Nutcracker
Written by E T A Hoffman. Illustrated by Roberto Innocenti.

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike.

135 pages. Hardcover
Creative Editions

Full-color illustrations

Regularly priced at $35.00 each.
Internet special. $19.95 each.

Polar Express
Written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

11.5" x 9.25" hardcover.

A classic and magical Christmas tale.

VA0890, $17.95.
Internet special, $12.50.