A Very Pirate Christmas

PreS-Gr 1—Santa has barely started his annual Christmas sleigh ride when he is hijacked by a pirate captain and his mangy robotic crew. The captain ties Santa up and dons his red suit and all the pirates take to the skies in Santa's sleigh. After a precarious, turbulent flight, they find a house, steal all the Christmas paraphernalia (from tree to presents), and bring it back to their ship, where they feast on fruitcakes and gloat evilly. Luckily, they are foiled by tiny cabin boy Pip (in striped nightcap and eye patch), who makes them give Christmas back. In thanks, Santa makes Pip the captain and demotes the captain to toilet-scrubbing cabin boy. The rhyming text is humorous and keeps the energy level high, but the real charm lies in the goofy illustrations of the robot pirates with their toothy grins and mismatched limbs, the rotund Santa, and the skinny-legged reindeer.