8 Tiny Reindeer: An Advent Calendar Adventure

Gr 3-6–In this holiday graphic novel based on the podcast 8 Tiny Reindeer, two of Santa’s elves, Delfina and Elvis, try to save Christmas from evil tech tycoon Larchmont Quickbuck. The story is structured like an advent calendar, with a chapter for each day of December up until Christmas. Santa has embraced technology to the point of letting his elves go and sending his eight reindeer back into the wild. This may seem noble, but having machines create all the toys for the kids and drones delivering all the gifts takes the heart out of the holiday season. Days before Christmas, Quickbuck tells Santa that he will take over Christmas and send Santa packing to the beach. Santa can only save Christmas by bringing back the magic of the Christmas holiday, with the eight tiny reindeer and his elves. Mohiuddin’s graphics are vibrant and creative; the illustrations add to the festive feeling of the holiday season and depict Larchmont Quickbuck’s ruthlessness well. Readers will enjoy the colorful artwork, the modern play on the story of Santa and his elves, and those eight tiny reindeer.