I
received a signed hardcover copy of this book along with its accompanying CD
from the author through a giveaway he recently had on GoodReads, and the following
is my honest opinion.
We
all remember growing up our parents kept on telling us about Santa and how he
keeps tabs on us with everything we do each day. They told us as Christmas
approaches he keeps checking and rechecking his lists to make sure each child
is on the correct list; the nice list and the naughty list. While we knew Santa
spent the entire night going to every good boy’s and girl’s home where he’d
leaved a nice gift; we never knew anything about how the naughty gifts got
delivered to those naughty boys and girls.
Chip
Huddleton, in this, his debut children’s book, has successfully attempted to
clear this mystery up for his young readers and some of their parents. It appears
Santa has a brother, the black sheep of his family, who he enlists to handle
the naughty gift giving to the children on his naughty list. Santa’s brother is Snowbeard, a pirate whose
home is in the Florida Keys.
Snowbeard
had been reluctant at first, but his brother’s jovial manner finally convinces
him to undertake the task. With the rotten old fruitcake Santa gave him and
private toys made by his crew loaded onto a huge jolly-boat that will be pulled
by a team of eight now-flying sharks, thanks to Santa’s magical pixie dust,
Snowbeard takes off, following the route his brother gave him.
Santa
had an alternative motive for plotting the course the way he did. Even though
his brother was actually on the naughty list, he wanted to give his brother a
nice gift for helping him the way he did. What the gift is I’m not going to say,
what it was is in the book.
While
I could have easily read this book as an adult, I used the accompanying CD. The addition of the music, sea shanties, and carols
heard in the interludes between the actual story totally enriched the experience
of having the book read to me by the author, who used his talents to give an
authentic private voice to the story as well as its characters.
In
the end there’s no way I can give the author, Chip Huddleston, or this book
anything less the 5 STARS I’ve given it; wish I would have been able to give it
10 STARS.
