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CM . . . .
Volume V Number 18 . . . . May 7, 1999
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Santa's Toys.
Sam Williams. Illustrated by Tim Gill.
Vancouver, BC: Raincoast Books, 1998.
12 pp., cloth, $18.95.
ISBN 1-55192-173-1.
Grades Preschool-1 / Ages 3-6.
Review by Dave Jenkinson.
** /4
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excerpt:
When Santa came down the chimney one snowy Christmas Eve, he placed the toys around the
tree and then he turned to leave.
But he spied a little engine at the top of his sack, and wound it up - click, click, click, and sped it
along on its track.
In this toy book, it is Christmas eve, and Santa has come down the chimney to leave some toys.
However, before he departs, he plays with some of them, including a train, some toy soldiers, a
doll's house, and a plane. As the above excerpt indicates, the brief, rather pedestrian text is
written using internal rhyme. Other than the opening illustration, the remainder, which are
rendered in a realistic style, are double page spreads. In each illustration, the young viewer is
asked to manipulate something. On the first page, youngsters "slide" Santa up and down the
chimney. On the next, they "slide" the train along the tracks. They then "push/pull" the soldiers to
march them along the blocks before they lift the wall to look inside the doll's house. They are also
given the opportunity to "fly" a toy plane by sliding it along a path. Finally, they can "pull" the
teddy bear's eyes closed so that it can go to sleep while an angel moves its arm for some unknown
reason when you "pull" its tab.
Parents tend to be more impressed with this type of book than are young children who are often
frustrated by being physically incapable of the fine push/pull/slide movements required of them. If
you are to purchase this title, be certain to "loosen" up the moving parts before giving it to
children to manipulate. In the review copy, for example, the airplane kept getting stuck in the
gutter as it flew along its "flight path" while the British style locomotive required a perfectly
horizontal movement or it came off (disappeared below) the tracks. Also recognize that such
books usually have a short working life when left in the hands of most young children.
Recommended with Reservations.
Dave Jenkinson teaches children's and YA literature courses in the Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@mts.net.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association.
Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice
is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without
permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - MAY 7,
1999.
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