When Santa Came to Stay

by Billy Sharff, Eda Kaban (Illustrator)

Overview

The Grinch meets Snowmen at Christmas in this rollicking, rhyming picture book that answers the question, Why can't Christmas last all year?

What happens when your Christmas cookies are too good? Santa comes . . . to stay! At first, it's fantastic: treats and toys and reindeer flights every day. Then Mrs. Claus arrives. And Baby Claus. And before long, the Easter Bunny and her babies Chuck and Puck and Luck and Duck and . . . you get the picture. By the time the Fourth of July rolls around, everyone's had a bit too much eggnog in their cereal and confetti in their hair. As one family discovers, maybe the true meaning of Christmas is about more than presents and sweets. And maybe there's a reason it comes but once a year.

"Smileworthy [with] lots of playful silliness . . . Here, too much Santa is a bad thing done just right." —Kirkus
"Holiday hijinks reminiscent of Snowmen at Night make this a worthy addition." —SLJ
"[Makes] the most of the hilarious chaos." —The Horn Book
“Irreverent [and] high-energy.” —PW

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593325230
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/18/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	630,635
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Billy Sharff is an author who writes for kids of all ages. He lives in a little house in the woods of New Hampshire with his wife and daughter. When not writing silly stories, Billy makes movies, writes songs, and visits every bookstore he can find. This is his debut picture book.

Eda Kaban has illustrated many popular books for children, including Pirates Don’t Go to Kindergarten and Even Superhero's Have Bad Days. Born and raised in Turkey, Eda now lives in Oakland, California, with her husband, small son, and two Siamese cats.

Editorial Reviews

09/12/2022

After one family leaves extra-delicious cookies out for Santa, he comes back for more on New Year’s Eve—and doesn’t leave. But it’s not only Santa, notes the picture book’s child narrator, portrayed with brown skin. His wife, child, and kitten arrive on Valentine’s Day, his in-laws come on Easter, and pretty soon it’s a daily Christmas blowout. Rhyming, irreverent lines from Sharff take readers blow-by-blow through the ordeal: “Each meal was full of Christmas cheer,/ With treats and sweets to spare—/ With eggnog in our cereal,/ Confetti in our hair!” Polished, high-energy cartooning by Kaban visualizes constant-Christmas chaos across an elf and human cast of varying skin tones. The narrator’s creative solution neatly resolves this extended consideration of the possibility of too much Christmas. Ages 4–7. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Story and art make for a smileworthy book with lots of playful silliness and a gentle reminder about the heart of Christmas. Here, too much Santa is a bad thing done just right." —Kirkus

"Accompanied by vibrant illustrations full of the color and movement, this is a fun and silly story that will be giggled over while shared time and again during the holiday season. . . . Holiday hijinks reminiscent of Caralyn’s Buehner’s Snowmen at Night make this a worthy addition to the holiday fare. —SLJ

“Rhyming, irreverent lines from Sharff [and] polished, high-energy cartooning by Kaban visualizes constant-Christmas chaos [with a] creative solution.” —Publishers Weekly

"Energetic cartoon illustrations, featuring a creative problem-solving Black girl and her parents, capture the over-the-top premise, making the most of the hilarious chaos." —The Horn Book

From the Publisher

09/01/2022

PreS-Gr 2—When Santa comes to visit, he loves the young protagonist's cookies so much that he returns on New Year's Eve and stays through Valentine's Day. And then Easter, and Mother's Day. A never-ending Christmas seems like it would be every child's dream, but it's not all it's cracked up to be. Mrs. Claus arrives for Valentine's Day, of course; the Easter Bunny joins in at Easter, along with all her baby bunnies. By the 4th of July the house is too full, and the family is sick of eating Christmas dinner every day. But Santa won't go. Even soliciting help from the mayor to evict him goes awry. It's not until the young girl turns the tables on Santa, overloading him with Christmas presents and cheer, that he's finally able to see the error of his ways—and that part of what makes Christmas Day so special is that it's only once a year. Told through rhyming couplets and accompanied by vibrant illustrations full of the color and movement, this is a fun and silly story that will be giggled over while shared time and again during the holiday season. The protagonist is biracial, with a dad who is white and a mom who has brown skin; a variety of skin tones are represented in both humans and elves. VERDICT Holiday high jinks reminiscent of Caralyn's Buehner's Snowmen at Night make this a worthy addition to the holiday fare for all libraries.—Jennifer Noonan

School Library Journal

2022-08-17
Santa overstays his welcome after Christmas, overwhelming a family with North Pole visitors.

It’s hard to imagine a world in which Santa’s everyday presence would be too much, but that’s what happens to one child and their family after Santa visits and stays. What’s more, it’s not just Santa who moves in; it’s Mrs. Claus; their kitten, Santa Paws; Santa’s parents and in-laws; even the reindeer. As the year goes by and the family observes various holidays, such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, all with too much Yuletide cheer, the child eventually steps in and teaches Santa a lesson about the sanctity and joy of Christmas. Sharff’s rhyming text reads well, giving the story a bouncy pace while keeping the pages turning. Kaban’s illustrations feature a multiracial central family and character ensemble, and the child who narrates the story has brown skin; Santa is light-skinned, while Mrs. Claus is tan-skinned. In addition, the illustrations convey a feeling of movement and action, whether it’s Easter bunnies hopping around the house or a chaotic Fourth of July party. Together, the story and art make for a smileworthy book with lots of playful silliness and a gentle reminder about the heart of Christmas. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Too much Santa is a bad thing done just right. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews