In this holiday picture book, a companion to Raymond Briggs’s The Snowman, a little boy builds a snow puppy next to his snowman—in hopes of getting a real puppy for Christmas. That night the Snowman comes to life and takes the boy and the Snowdog on an adventure to the world of Snow People. But the best is yet to come on Christmas morning, when a real, live puppy is waiting under the tree.
Young Anja, whose greatest dream is to be one of Santa’s elves, makes friends with the animals that guide her on the journey from her home in the far North to meet Santa.
Santa’s newest helper is his cousin Pancho, a farmer in South Texas. Back in the day, Pancho was a mariachi singer with a whole lot of style and a fancy sombrero, but as the years passed, Pancho got a little older and a little wider. Then one night his primo Santa Claus showed up looking for help along the US/Mexico border. All Christmas Eve, Pancho delivers toys to the boys and girls on the border.
The year begins with hockey, icefishing, and a snowmobile race. Spring brings renewal: the arrival of piglets, baby chicks in the farm kitchen; and outside, the fields are seeded. In summer, there’s a dinosaur park to be visited; a calf is groomed for the fair and wheat tested between grandfather’s fingers. In fall, a farm auction becomes a party, trick-or-treating is done by pick-up truck, and Clydesdales are driven by teams competing at the world’s great farm fair.The glorious year ends with the arrival of Santa on the main street at night in a pickup truck, while beyond in the dark is the infinite mystery of the prairies.
The marzipan-loving but lightning shy reindeer, Santa and his caravan have come crashing down in a storm just two weeks before Christmas. Santa’s not safe. The ruthless Gerold Geronimus Goblynch plans to put an end to children’s wishes and turn the holiday season into his moneymaking scheme.