This post is sponsored by Scholastic.
To our family the story of Santa Claus has always been a game. My husband is of the mindset that you shouldn’t lie to children and telling them that Santa is real is a lie so my kids have always known that dad is Santa. We had to tell them that just because you know the truth doesn’t mean that other kids do and if you want a Christmas present from Santa you have to pretend he is real. They would end up getting gifts from us “from Santa” and from both sets of grandparents “from Santa” so it was a win win for them.
Not everyone knows how to handle the transition of telling your kids about Santa which makes this new book by Martha Brockenbrough, Love, Santa a great story. I had my daughter read it, I wanted to know what her perspective was, since she always knew the truth about Santa. So the little girl in the book writes to Santa every single year and Santa would always write back. One year she realizes that Santa isn’t real and wonders about the letters, so she instead writes to her mom and asks her if she is Santa. Her mom ends up telling her that everyone is Santa. I think the idea that everyone is Santa makes sense. When you look at what we do for for my kids that idea works, because we always had to clarify that this is Memaw’s Santa gift, this one was our Santa gift and that one was Papa Mark’s Santa gift.
My kids only wrote a few letters to Santa, maybe because they always knew, but some things are still fun. That’s why to us Santa was a game. What does your family do? DO your kids write to Santa every year? Have you ever wondered how you are going to make that transition with your kids? Love, Santa would be a great way to help explain the meaning of Santa in a gentle way of turning the way a child celebrates Christmas. The beautiful artwork helps tell this heartfelt story along with interactive letters which was also really cool.
Love, Santa
By Martha Brockenbrough
Illustrated by Lee White
In Stores Now! Released September 26, 2017
For Parents and Kids ages 6-11 (for telling the truth about Santa)
About Love, Santa
In a series of letters, a young girl writes to Santa to ask about the North Pole, Mrs. Claus, and of course, Christmas goodies. Year after year, Santa writes back, and a heartwarming relationship develops, until one year, the girl writes to her mother instead: Mom, are you Santa? Her mother responds to say that no, she is not Santa. Because Santa is bigger than any one person — we bring him out through kindness to one another and the power of imagination. This transformative tale spins a universal childhood experience into a story about love, giving, and the spirit of Christmas.
About the Creators
Martha Brockenbrough is the author of two books for adults and five books for young readers, including The Game of Love and Death, which earned four starred reviews and was a Kirkus Prize finalist, Devine Intervention, and The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy. She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and their two daughters. Visit her online at marthabrockenbrough.com.
Lee White is an artist and teacher who loves watercolor, print making, and climbing trees. He spends his days splashing paint in his backyard studio, where there are absolutely no clocks allowed! He has illustrated more than fifteen books and shown in galleries across the country, from Los Angeles to New York. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and young son.
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