Christmas in July - Softcover

With their own inimitable sparkle, an irrepressible duo tackles a hoary subject: Santa delayed. The problem is his pants; the cleaner has mistakenly sent them to N.Y.C. plutocrat Rich Rump, and the arrogant Rump won't even listen to Santa's urgent tale of woe. Neither will anyone else; unrecognized, he's arrested for loitering and sentenced to six months--during which Christmas doesn't happen and the economy languishes. By the time Santa emerges, Rump is trying to peddle the pants on a street corner and has mellowed enough to present them to Santa as a gift (``They're so you''). And Christmas finally comes! Caldecott-winner Egielski's illustrations have as much sly humor as the text--even signs and lampposts contribute to the lively, comical action, while a mural above the female judge, who is irate at Santa's pantless state (he wears polka-dotted boxer shorts), exhibits a row of bare male legs beneath the skirts of classical togas. These laugh-aloud pictures are also exquisitely designed and drawn with panache; the subtle caricatures are touched with rueful humor. Here's one holiday book to keep out all year long. (Picture book. 4+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

When Santa sends his pants to the cleaners, he unwittingly sets in motion a sequence of events that delays that year's yuletide. For the cleaners misdirect the familiar red trousers ("Size 67--with cuffs!"), giving them to wealthy, arrogant New Yorker Rich Rump. When Santa attempts to retrieve them he is arrested for loitering and jailed for six months, during which time "the world was a mess." Yorinks's prose here seems forced, and his attempted witticisms are relentless--dependent more on adult sensibilities than children's senses of humor. ("Santa was sayonara" and "fresh out of the pokey" are neither childlike nor particularly endearing.) And though Egielski's illustrations have a certain verve, this is not one of the duo's more satisfying collaborations. Underlying its polish and cleverness--and beneath its verbal and visual acrobatics--it is a mean-spirited book, lacking in substance and heart. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.