The Great Mrs. Claus

I knew this book was special the moment it arrived in the mail. Beautifully packaged and beautiful on the inside, it oozes Christmas spirit... My 2-year-old daughter loves it, insists it is her book, and has sat through an entire reading, even though she's a little young for the story. It starts with a fun 4-page fold-out puzzle - a map of the North Pole with a magnifying bookmark to help locate numbers. And there's another night-time fold-out map in the back with more pieces to the puzzle. Perfect for the sleuthing junior... And between the maps is a story that will touch everyone's heart. This North Pole tale is about an elf sled race tradition, a crafty uncle who loves his niece and nephew, and a young boy and girl who think they've outgrown kisses. Until they hear the story of how Mr. and Mrs. Claus met - the kiss that saved Santa's life, and continues to inspire him. "You're never too young or too old to show love. It's what magic and soul and good things are made of." The story is beautifully told, with the Claus legend in rhyme. Filled with colorful illustrations, this book is a perfect Christmas gift for the 6-12 year-olds and older! It looks, feels, and reads like quality, and the story is one you'll want to pull out and re-read each year. While I generally prefer Christmas books that deal with Christ's birth, this is one Santa book I don't mind having on my shelf.

Christmas books are a special breed of publication that require more than the average bound paper and ink. They have to encapsulate the body and spirit of the world's favorite holiday. Most succeed in doing so in small doses; a twelve-page large print story with beautiful illustrations and a spoon full of charm. Chris A. Shoemaker's "The Great Mrs. Claus", on the other hand, packs a little more Christmas bang for your Christmas buck. "The Great Mrs. Claus" is actually three books in one, all of them full of large print color illustrations by Cesar De Castro. The first one is an eye spy game in the fashion of the "Where's Waldo?" series. Although it isn't nearly the challenge that "Waldo" is, it's fun to use the fancy candy cane decorated magnifying glass/ bookmark to find hidden numbers and solve the Mrs. Claus word puzzles. The second book is actually only a frame for the Mrs. Claus story. An old elf named Sparky works on a sled with his niece and nephew in the next room who are apparently bored. He sits them down to tell the story of Mrs. Claus, which is the third book, entirely in rhyming verse. The Claus story is where the Christmas dial gets turned up to eleven on the Jolly Meter, and is by far, the book's best pages. The illustrations are pleasant throughout, but during Sparky's scenes they are rather static, and never venture beyond the stale wooden confines of Sparky's workhouse. Castro does a good job varying the angles and playing with action, but every page looks like a gingerbread cookie until Mrs. Claus sparks to life about a third into the book. The rhyming verse is also a welcome departure from the text laden Sparky narrative, which might be daunting to an audience of six-year-olds. At nearly fifty pages, "The Great Mrs. Claus" is a behemoth among Christmas story-time books, ("Polar Express" has only thirty-two) which will provide you with numerous nights of bedtime reading for your children, not to mention the wonderful activities in the front and back of the book. The message is wholesome for those children who are becoming more aware of the world and fun for those who still enjoy a goodnight tucking-in. The final test of a successful Christmas book is whether or not you will be able to read it each year, and with three shots taken in a single expertly crafted art book, how could the creators miss? The tale of Mrs. Claus's first encounter with Mr. Claus is endearing, funny, poignant; a perfect picture of the blissful spirit of Christmas. The love that has gone into the crafting of "The Great Mrs. Claus" is evident in its careful binding, and detailed layout. A healthy addition to any yuletide library, this is a gift that gives and gives and gives again.

In "The Great Mrs. Claus", we enter into the magical workshop of Santa's most trusted elf, Sparky. Sparky who is in the process of making a new sled for his nephew Rassle when he and his sister Klee-Klee, wander into the workshop to say their goodnights to their uncle. After discovering that his niece and nephew have decided that they are too old for good night kisses, Sparky begins the story of how Santa and Mrs. Claus met. In the middle of the story Sparky after picking up the paintbrush to paint the sled he is making begins to sneeze, splattering red paint all over the place. Thinking that he is allergic to the paint he is worried that Santa will find out. As the story of Santa and Mrs. Claus begins to unwind, we see that it was Sparky that introduced Santa to Mrs. Claus, and she was the one to save Christmas by a single kiss. After hearing the story Klee-Klee and Rassle decide that they are never too old for a good night kiss. Rassle has also discovered that uncle Sparky is not allergic to the paint but the glue instead saving his uncle from being embarrassed. "The Great Mrs. Claus", is a heartwarming story that will both please and delight both the young and the young at heart. With beautifully drawn illustrations by Cesar De Castor that will immediately capture your eye and the brilliantly crafted lyrics by Chris A. Shoemaker, one cannot go wrong with this book. Capturing the essence of Christmas while spreading the message that `you're never too young or too old to show love, It's what magic and soul and good things are made of '. "The Great Mrs. Claus", is not only a book, but truly a work of art for the heart. Equipped with wonderful values, lively artwork, lyrical content, and an interactive map of the North Pole that comes with a magnifying glass, "The Great Mrs. Claus", is guaranteed to become a family favorite for generations to come.

Hard at work on a sled for his nephew Rassle to use in the annual Glitterlit Mountain Downhill sled races, Sparky put everything on hold when Rassle and Klee-Klee came in to say goodnight to their favorite Uncle. When they informed Uncle Sparky that since they were now 9 and 12 years old, they no longer needed bedtime kisses, not even from Uncle Sparky. Fearing they were growing up quicker than he expected, he decided it was time to tell a tale that might change there minds about that goodnight kiss. The telling of this story would be easy, since Sparky had been one of Santa Claus's closest and most trusted elves for such a long time. Reaching back into his memory, he started the tale of the first trip that Santa made to deliver his toys. Back then Santa was a young, single man and when trouble struck he turned to Sparky for the help he needed to make it through one of the worst storms anyone had ever seen. I enjoyed the playfulness of the children with their Uncle. The sneezing bit adds even more fun for the kids, even though at first it kind of seemed like that was why they didn't want to give him a hug and kiss goodnight. The story about Santa fist meeting Miss Suzie McEase, the soon to be Mrs. Claus was in the format of a poem. With the rhyming cadence of the story it's pattern was easily formed, and then broken when the kids started getting restless (as kids tend to do sometimes). The rhythm was easily picked up again as the story got back on track. The story did the trick and thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Claus, both Rassle and Klee-Klee willingly gave Uncle Sparky a goodnight kiss. With the addition of the wonderful illustrations, that are by Cesar De Castro, the beautiful poem and the cute story to match, this is a good read-aloud story that kids will enjoy for many Christmas times to come. I read this to my 8 and 10 year olds (even though it is not Christmas time yet) and they enjoyed the way the pictures so accurately depicted the story, they laughed at Uncle Sparky's sneezes and at Santa falling down. They thought that Mrs. Claus was sweet, and so was Klee-Klee. They would like to hear this story again, whether it is Christmas time or not. They also really enjoyed the two seek-and-find pages, double wide with a plastic magnifying window on a super long ribbon. One, a day time view of Santa's North Pole, the other a night time view of the North Pole, including a seek-and-find question and answer combination - what fun.

Reviewed by Madeline McElroy (age 8) for Reader Views (8/09) This story starts off with a man named Sparky, a very tall elf, who builds toys for Santa Claus. Sparky has one niece and one nephew. At the beginning of the book he tells them lots of stories about Santa when he was young - about the time he tried to make reindeer fly and when on his first take-off, his first suit ripped. You won't believe how Santa met Miss Suzie, later to be, Mrs. This is a silly story about Santa Claus and his wife. There are also many poems throughout the story about the way Santa feels about Mrs. Claus. He feels lucky to have her. He shares a secret about a special kiss at the end of the story. This is a very large book with a lot of good and colorful artwork. It took me almost an hour to read it and find all of the hidden places on the map. Sparky had a surprise for his niece also. He would often give her clues, but would never tell her what it was that he was making until it was finished. I thought this was a fun book to read. This would be a book I would read again. There are two very large "picture searches" that you can search for places like where Santa lived, toy stores, bakeries, candy stores and a lot more! There are puzzles and great things to find and see in The Great Mrs. Clause" by Chris A. Shoemaker. It comes with a candy caned striped magnified glass to find all the places on the map. This was my favorite part of this book!