How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?

by Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Hypothetical — Let's say you're stranded on a deserted island with only one Christmas book, what would it be? You don't have to answer that. I know it's very personal. Well, your new favorite Santa-centric book has arrived, and given that it's from Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, it's unsurprising just how fantastic How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney is. The Barnett + Klassen formula equals magic once again, and this time it's for Christmas.

The beloved, multi-award-winning duo of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen tackle a perennial question.

When Santa arrives at a child’s house on Christmas Eve, does he go down the chimney feetfirst or headfirst? What if he gets stuck? What if there’s no chimney? Maybe he slides under the door, as thin as a piece of paper? Or is it possible he pours himself through the faucet? What happens once he’s inside? Whether it’s shape-shifting or impromptu laundry use, Mac Barnett’s iconic talent for earnest deadpan humor and Jon Klassen’s irresistibly funny art honor the timeless question with answers both ridiculous and plausible, mounting in hilarity as the night continues. Channeling a child’s fanciful explanations (and begging for further speculation), this latest collaboration by a New York Times best-selling team will find a secure spot among family holiday traditions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536234442
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/12/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mac Barnett, the 2025–2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, is a New York Times best-selling author of stories for children. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages and sold more than five million copies worldwide. Mac Barnett’s books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/ New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book Awards, three E. B. White Read-Aloud Awards, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Germany’s Jugendliteraturpreis, China’s Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award, the Netherlands’ Zilveren Griffel, and Italy’s Premio Orbil. He is the cocreator, with Jon Klassen, of the Substack Looking at Picture Books, as well as Shape Island, a stop-motion animated series on Apple TV+, based on their best-selling Shapes series of picture books. Mac Barnett lives in Oakland, California.

Jon Klassen is the creator of the #1 New York Times best-selling I Want My Hat Back, which won a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor, and its companions This Is Not My Hat, which won a Caldecott Medal and a Kate Greenaway Medal, and We Found a Hat. He is also the author-illustrator of The Rock from the Sky and The Skull, and the illustrator of Extra Yarn, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, and the Shapes Trilogy, all by Mac Barnett. Originally from Ontario, Jon Klassen now lives in Los Angeles.

Mac Barnett, the 2025–2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, is a New York Times best-selling author of stories for children. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages and sold more than five million copies worldwide. Mac Barnett’s books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/ New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book Awards, three E. B. White Read-Aloud Awards, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Germany’s Jugendliteraturpreis, China’s Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award, the Netherlands’ Zilveren Griffel, and Italy’s Premio Orbil. He is the cocreator, with Jon Klassen, of the Substack Looking at Picture Books, as well as Shape Island, a stop-motion animated series on Apple TV+, based on their best-selling Shapes series of picture books. Mac Barnett lives in Oakland, California.

Jon Klassen is the creator of the #1 New York Times bestseller I Want My Hat Back, which was named a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year, and a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year. He returned with another hat and another thief in This Is Not My Hat, which won the Caldecott Medal became a New York Times bestseller.

He is also the illustrator of House Held Up By Trees, a picture book written by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Ted Kooser, as well as Cats’ Night Out by Caroline Stutson, which won the Governor General’s Award; Extra Yarn and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett; and the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series by Maryrose Wood.

Jon Klassen has worked as an illustrator for feature animated films, music videos, and editorial pieces. His animation projects include design work for DreamWorks Feature Animation as well as LAIKA Studios on their feature film Coraline. Other work includes designs for a BBC spot used in the coverage of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, which won a 2010 BAFTA award. Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Jon Klassen now lives in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

Klassen’s illustrations, done in graphite pencil and ink and finished digitally, fit the absurdist humor wonderfully. The conclusion—that the narrator has no idea how Santa does it but is glad he can—is a great kicker.
—Booklist (starred review)

A dynamic picture-book duo turn their attention to one of the great mysteries of our time. . . . Curiosity runs wild as Barnett ponders everything from Santa doing the laundry in children’s basements to his ability to get along with every household dog he meets, while Klassen’s there to bring each possibility to life. . . . For all that it leans heavily on absurdity, this book exhibits some serious heart.. . . . In the market for an understated Christmas classic? Behold! A Christmas miracle!
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Barnett’s tone perfectly captures a child’s endless stream of imaginative conjectures, while Klassen’s droll idiosyncratic graphite and ink illustrations bring out the humor full force. . . . Another hilarious hit that will be a welcome addition to the lighter side of Christmas collections.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Barnett’s text expertly speculates as a child might. . . Klassen’s graphite, ink, and digital illustrations add his ever-pleasing straight-faced brand of humor. . . Theorizing is more entertaining than discovering an answer would be—the magic is in the mystery, after all, including the mystery of how Santa gets back up the chimney.
—The Horn Book

The frequent collaborators take the simple question of the title and dive right in. . . Barnett sustains a wide-eyed, innocent tone throughout, and Klassen’s Santa appears amiable in this smart Yuletide comedy that visualizes everything from Santa sitting in his skivvies in front of a clothes washer to Saint Nick arriving by post.
—Publishers Weekly

[A] genial and witty picture book. . . Rather than answer the question outright, Mr. Barnett does what parents generally do—he dodges it—in this case by posing a series of childlike speculations: ‘Does he cinch up his belt? Or shrink himself down to the size of a mouse?’ In Mr. Klassen’s pictures, Santa is comically deadpan through ever-more outlandish propositions.
—The Wall Street Journal

How does Santa get down the chimney? Does he shrink? Stretch? And what if your house has no chimney? These are questions any curious child might ask, and the team of Barnett and Klassen explores them with wry humor. . . Together, they are a knockout team. . . This is a great Christmas book but don't be surprised if your child wants to read this one all year-round.
—The Star Tribune

Barnett and Klassen are a classic comedic duo, the likes of Abbott and Costello, with a signature blend of delightful, subversive humor that children and adults can't get enough of.
—The San Francisco Chronicle Datebook

Candlewick has another true gem of the holiday season in 'How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?' by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. Barnett and Klassen are a true superstar team who have worked hand in hand on a number of projects. . . In this newest book, they muse over that age-old question about Santa. Kids will love how playful, inquisitive, and funny the book is. Parents will love that the book provides no answers, just some fun suggestions, and that it is inclusive of residences that don’t have chimneys.
—Boston.com

For anyone who has ever wondered how exactly Santa goes down the chimney, this new story combines Mac Barnett’s deadpan humor with Jon Klassen’s irresistible art to explore both absolutely ridiculous and entirely plausible answers to an age-old question.
—The Barnes & Noble Reads Blog

Written and illustrated by the unstoppable duo that is Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, this book features a hilarious exploration of how the heck Santa gets down the chimney—especially if there is no chimney to go down? Bottom line: Prepare to laugh out loud and also interview your child about their own hypothesis on this topic.
—PureWow

Author Barnet and illustrator Klassen present many ideas that will fire a child’s imagination. The hilarious possibilities of Santa’s talents for showing up on Christmas Eve undetected are further enhanced by the very funny illustrations, making ‘How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney’ one of the funniest, most clever Santa stories ever!
—The Reading Eagle

Instant classic!
—Iowa Public Radio

From the Publisher

★ 2023-08-12
A dynamic picture-book duo turn their attention to one of the great mysteries of our time.

For those literal-minded children out there, this book serves to answer some essential questions about basic Santa-related logistics. We all know that Santa is supposed to go down the chimney to deliver gifts, but how? “Does he cinch up his belt? Or shrink himself down to the size of a mouse?” That particular speculation is accompanied by an image of a small Santa standing on the edge of a chimney looking down into the abyss. Synched perfectly with Barnett’s gentle yet hilarious questions and often silly propositions (“Or does he slip through the pipes and come out of your faucet?”), Klassen’s tan-skinned Santa is as funny and expressionless as a bearded Buster Keaton. Curiosity runs wild as Barnett ponders everything from Santa doing the laundry in children’s basements to his ability to get along with every household dog he meets, while Klassen’s there to bring each possibility to life. Don’t look for any definitive answers in this story, though. As the last line states, “Santa goes up the chimney the same way he comes down. And I have no idea how Santa does that. But I’m so glad he can.” For all that it leans heavily on absurdity, this book exhibits some serious heart. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

In the market for an understated Christmas classic? Behold! A Christmas miracle! (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews