Juniper’s Christmas

Gr 3-7–Santa Claus stopped delivering presents to children after his wife died eight years ago. Since then, he has lived undercover in England as Nicholas. He and his reindeer do good deeds for people, but try their best not to be found by the Christmas elves. Without Santa Claus to bring Christmas cheer, Juniper’s father developed his own tradition of helping those in need and filling the holiday season with good tidings. When he died, Juniper and her mom were too miserable to carry on the Christmas tradition. This year, when they finally feel up to celebrating, Juniper’s mom disappears. Juniper is heartbroken and begins searching for her mom. Through a family friend, Duchess, Juniper makes contact with Nicholas. She learns that Nicholas is Santa Claus in hiding at the same time that she and Duchess find out that the local constables want to shut down the holiday food and clothes giveaway. As this fast-paced story races to a conclusion, Juniper thwarts the constables and their criminal helpers, and eventually finds her mom. Duchess falls in love with Nicholas, whom the elves finally locate. Christmas is saved. Colfer is a master storyteller. The voices of both Juniper and Nicholas shine through and will keep readers engaged, while Prabhat’s beautiful illustrations help to convey the personalities of each character.