Tag Archives: Santa Claus the World’s Number One Toy Expert

Boot & Shoe

Two dog brothers and best friends do lots of things together (eating, sleeping, peeing), but one is a front porch kind of dog and the other is a back porch kind of dog. When a squirrel “gets all up in [their] business,” things get confused and the dogs miss each other terribly until the very funny happy ending.

This one was especially popular with my youngest. And I always enjoy the work of Marla Frazee, who has a sub-specialty in showing things in motion (as she did in Roller Coaster and Santa Claus the World’s Number One Toy Expert) and outdoes herself here. (Speaking of motion, is it possible that one of Those Darn Squirrels! is making a guest appearance here?)

Author: Marla Frazee

Illustrator: Marla Frazee

Santa Claus the World’s Number One Toy Expert

The Santa in this story is a hard-working, hard-playing, jolly but largely solitary fellow who spends the entire year happily using his unmatched expertise in kids, toys, and gifts to match “the exact right kid with the exact right toy 99.9 percent of the time.” As always, Marla Frazee’s pictures are wonderful and reward settling in and really enjoying the details (like the subtle and funny “post-credits scene” on the back cover).

Author:  Marla Frazee
Illustrator:  Marla Frazee