Peanut Butter & Santa Claus: A Zombie Culinary Tale

by Joe McGee, Charles Santoso (Illustrator)

Overview

When Santa gets snowed in at the North Pole, it’s up to three heroes from Quirkville to save the day—but they’re in for an ooey-gooey surprise!

Reginald (the zombie), Zarfon (the alien), and Abigail Zink (the human) are all preparing for Christmas in Quirkville when the terrible news breaks: CHRISTMAS IS CANCELED! Santa is snowed in at the North Pole. The three friends hatch a plan to save the day. They load into Zarfon’s spaceship—along with lots of peanut butter for a surprise Christmas delivery to his home planet later on—and head straight for the North Pole. When they arrive, they find that Santa and his elves are trapped, not by snow, but by a marshmallow cream explosion. With a little bit of creativity, a little bit of Christmas spirit, and one big KA-POW!, the pals from Quirkville save Christmas and inadvertently create a delicious treat!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419736346
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/15/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	532,036
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Joe McGee holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. His fiction and poetry have been published in both print and online journals, and he is the author of Peanut Butter & Brains. He lives in Frenchtown, New Jersey.

Charles Santoso loves drawing little things in his little journal and dreaming about funny, wondrous stories. He is the creator of Happy Hippo and has illustrated many books, including Caron Levis’s This Way, Charlie and Ida, Always; Joe McGee’s Peanut Butter & series; and the New York Times bestseller Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited in Australia, North America, and France, and he is based in Singapore.

Editorial Reviews

10/07/2019

In a follow-up to Peanut Butter & Brains and Peanut Butter & Aliens, the characters from Quirkville—Reginald, a gentle blue zombie, alien peanut-butter transporter Zarfon, and resourceful heroine Abigail Zink—zip off to the North Pole in a spaceship. Why? Christmas has been canceled on account of a storm, and Santa Claus needs saving. When they arrive, they learn that it’s not the snow impacting the visibility—it’s marshmallow cream. The solution, shown in Santoso’s expressive art: scooping up the sticky mess and making using what’s on hand to set things right. McGee again delivers an unlikely mash-up of zombies, aliens, and food for readers who just might prefer Halloween over Christmas. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Zarfon’s non-verbal speech balloons, and larger-than-life comedy work together to
deliver a sweet-and-salty tale."

Horn Book Magazine

2019-07-28
The third picture-book collaboration by McGee and Santoso (Peanut Butter & Aliens, 2017, etc.) takes a stab at holiday festivities.

Reginald the zombie, Zarfon the alien, and Abigail Zink, "the smartest girl in Quirkville," are "eager and excited for Santa's visit." But then a terrible storm prompts the mayor to announce that "CHRISTMAS IS CANCELED." The trio of friends is determined to "help Santa out of that storm." They head out in Zarfon's spaceship, loaded with (what else?) peanut butter. When they see the North Pole they quickly discover that the storm isn't blowing snow all around but rather marshmallow. Santa explains that "the marshmallow cream factory has gone bonkers!" and Zarfon has the bright idea to stuff the factory's chimneys with peanut butter. This stops the storm for a bit, but then there's a marshmallow-and-peanut-butter explosion. The combination is nothing short of delicious, so they make sandwiches and then Santa hitches his reindeer to the spaceship (because its engines were clogged), and they sail off to deliver the goodies for Christmas. While fans of prior books may enjoy this one's familiarity, the story is…a bit of a mess, and the art mostly replicates the action of the text without doing much to help things stick together.

Hold the peanut butter and stick to milk and cookies for Santa. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews