What Does Mrs. Claus Do?

I'm using this in a class for high school students about Gender in Literature. It is helpful to see the ways that gender is constructed for our small gender through stories, and this one gets 5 stars from me for taking a non-traditional approach to Santa!

Every Christmas Eve, Santa flies off in his sled to deliver toys and goodies to all the little boys and girls. But what does Mrs. Claus do while he is off on his present-giving adventure? Surely she waits and bakes him cookies for when he returns, right? This book offers a slightly skewed idea that maybe Mrs. Claus does all of the inside jobs, like working sales and overseeing product creation, or even following him in secret to fix all of his mistakes. With fantastic drawings that perfectly depict the jobs and careers she can do while he is gone, Kate Wharton and Christian Slade interweave their skills to create a children's book that truly reflects the wonders this season brings. Starting from throwing a ball to ending with her planting trees on the moon, one thing is for certain: the 32 pages in this book will make the readers imagination explode while making the season of Christmas all the more magical.

Santa Claus' yuletide responsibilities are well-documented, but what of his better half? What Does Mrs. Claus Do? is a cheery, rhyming children's picturebook speculating on the many professional and leisure occupations of Mrs. Claus. "Perhaps Mrs. Claus runs and advises / the whole operation of Claus Enterprises. / She meets with the elves and she gives / her projections for upcoming toys / and new safety inspections." The humorous illustrations of the many, increasingly wacky careers and activities bring to life this happy, imaginative, can-do storybook sure to delight young readers all year round.

This is a fresh, funny, original take on Christmas. So fun that I bought a second book to send to my niece. It's a great addition to the Christmas book collection...you'll love it!

It may be traditional to imagine that all Mrs. Claus does is bake cookies and chat with the elves, but it's much more fun to read Kate Wharton's take on it. She brings Mrs. C into the 21st century, giving her lots of adventurous career opportunities (polar geographer, pediatrician, heli-ski pilot!...) that should get little kids thinking and giggling. The illustrations are gorgeous and whimsical as well, with lots of variety and color. We keep finding new details to look at on each page. Since it covers the kind of stuff that might happen all year, you don't even have to restrict it to being a Christmas book--but it would make a great holiday gift, all the same!