Only YOU Can Save Christmas!

September 4, 2017
Wallace moves from hunting Santa’s helpers in How to Catch an Elf to giving one of them an assist in this irreverent holiday romp. After Wink Silverbells, one of the elves, discovers what he believes is a list of items Santa meant to give Mrs. Claus, he asks for readers’ help in gathering them. The gifts are straight out of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and finding swans a-swimming at the North Pole isn’t easy. Some replacements are necessary—turtles instead of turtle doves, four birds with phones who “text more than they call”—and readers assist by making noise (honking to summon geese, yodeling to alert milkmaids) and dancing (“More butt wiggling!”). Bruner’s cartoons of selfie-snapping penguins, stereotypically French hens (one’s decked out to look like Napoleon), and assorted lords and ladies add to the fun. And like the best parties, this one ends with lots of dancing. Ages 5–10.