4 out of 4 stars
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Everyone takes a sick day once in a while, right? I've certainly been known to take one here and there, I've even faked a sick day on occasion to get out of a rough day of school/work or to do something way more fun. What would happen, though, if all of Santa's reindeer came down with the chicken pox just three days before Christmas? Santa doesn't exactly have backups he can call on a moment's notice to fly his sleigh! This is the premise of Reindolphins by Kevin Brougher, a delightful children's book that sees Santa put a call out to the animal kingdom, looking for the perfect replacement (or even a passable one!) for his magical reindeer. Like many famous Christmas stories the book is essentially an illustrated poem utilizing an ABCB rhyme scheme and containing typically 6-8 syllables per line.
When I first saw the title "Reindolphins", I was expecting something cheesy and quickly thrown together. Luckily, that couldn't have been further from the truth! This is absolutely one of the most delightful children's books I've ever seen. The illustrations (by Lisa Santa Cruz) are exceptional, making this effectively a stellar piece collection of Christmas art. There were times I even had to look again to see if an illustration was part photo/part artwork (or maybe photos run through a filter?) because it looked so great, but then I highly doubt they actually got someone dressed in a Santa suit to talk to a room full of gorillas and monkeys. I also found the borders around the images to be a great touch - the more muted, textured borders highlight the stunning artwork even more. The total lack of white space on the story pages somehow really elevated the experience for me.
It isn't just the pages and font that make this book great, though. Kevin does a great job utilizing the book's plot, showing just what would happen if Santa used rhinos or elephants or skunks instead of reindeer. The skunk page will bring a smile to many kids with the stink I'm sure (I chuckled myself, shhhh), and the fact that the 9 bunnies returned as over 20 due to their multiplying ways was very witty. While I found a situation where it seemed the rhyme was forced a bit, the rest of the book was top-notch, fitting very naturally into that classic, poetic ABCB Christmas flow.
It's worth mentioning that I reviewed a digital copy of the book, and that it seems the book is only available in physical form. As such, I can't completely attest to how the book look on actual printed pages. However, I can't help but imagine that these crisp, lovely images would look even better when given life in a hardcover book. The entire time I read the book I couldn't help but think this is one that belongs in libraries and book stores, and should be a new classic for families to read every Christmas.
Aside from the previously mentioned one time I found a forced rhyme, this book was phenomenal. It's a great length (just over 40 pages), it has tremendous artwork, a unique plot that plays up the humor perfectly without killing the premise and it's told in a cute way that would be great to read to kids. As such, this is a title that's easily worthy of 4 out of 4 stars, and I'd absolutely recommend it to anyone who celebrates Christmas and has kids to read it to!
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Reindolphins
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