There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. A promising bid for holiday bestsellerdom. Tall and slender in fur-trimmed red, Auntie Claus cuts as elegant a figure amidst the North Pole’s snowy bustle as she does in her sparsely appointed New York digs most of Primavera’s expansive scenes are underlit to add an air of mystery, and presided over by looming background figures: Santa, the Statue of Liberty, a huge, moon-faced snowman. When she catches sight of the Bad-Boys-And-Girls list, and finds her little brother’s name on it, she reacts with uncharacteristic, newly mustered compassion, erasing his name and adding her own in it’s place suddenly she’s sharing a stage with Auntie, who turns out to be Santa’s sister and, having learned that it is better to give than to receive (“the first and final rule,” as Auntie calls it), is whisked home just in time for Christmas.

One year, Sophie stows away in Auntie Claus’s luggage, and ends up at the North Pole, pressed into hard service as an elf. Smug little rich girl Sophie Kringle has a great-aunt who lives in high style atop the palatial Bing Cherry Hotel, vacating only for her mysterious annual “business trip” between Halloween and Valentine’s Day. Primavera’s illustrations are, in a word, gorgeous (an adjective I rarely use, but in this case, gushing is in order), and the rich, colorful covers brighten our holiday scene.A grand, if unsubtle, cousin to William Joyce’s Santa Calls (1993). There are two other Auntie Claus books - Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas and Auntie Claus, Home for the Holidays – and they always figure prominently in our holiday “books as art” displays.

Primavera visited a few years ago, and the backstory of how she created the art for Auntie Claus (on huge canvasses) was truly amazing. Note from (the mom): We were at our favorite bookstore, Quail Ridge Books and Music, when Ms. To find out more, you’ll have to read the book! After weeks in the mailroom, she moves on to a more dangerous task: retrieving the Bad-Boy-&-Girl list. She stows away in one of Auntie Claus’s boxes, and when the trip is over, she finds she’s at the North Pole! When she gets mistaken for the new elf, the search for her aunt is on. When young Sophie Kringle decides to tag along on her aunt’s – that is, Auntie Claus’s – mysterious annual business trip, she doesn’t know what’s in store for her. Auntie Claus is one of our favorites because it draws you in automatically with the fantastic illustrations.

Auntie claus book