Santa, Are You for Real?

Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Mary Dixon Weidler

It's a right of passage in every child's life: Is Santa Claus real? This book is directed at those who are ready to learn the truth (and is definitely not for those who are hanging onto the myth a little longer). The story starts out in the same fashion as the Clement Moore poem "A Visit From Saint Nicholas," a nice touch, since the story told in that classic is exposed as a fraud in this tale. The rhyme helps keeps the children's interest, and the pictures are lively and almost cartoonlike, which lends to the book's appeal.

Unfortunately, the story turns to prose at the point where Todd's dad tells him the truth about Saint Nick and the tradition of giving Christmas presents. Although the story is well told, the change in language has the same affect on young listeners as Dorothy's return to a black-and-white Kansas after her adventures in the colorful Oz. It may be more direct, but it just dulls in comparison to the liveliness of the poem.

What the story does best, however, is present the truth, a truth that's sometimes hard for parents to fess up to their children. When children are ready for the truth, explaining our December traditions through the use of this book can be a special shared moment between parent and child, and can help make the explosion of the Santa myth a little easier to take.

Other books that deal with Santa include Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express and Barbara Knoll's Mommy, Was Santa Claus Born on Christmas Too?. The author also wrote Halloween: Is It For Real? and Easter Bunny, Are You for Real?

Plot Summary:

Does Santa exist? And, if he doesn't, can Todd ever again have faith in the adults who told him the Santa story? The answer is a resounding yes, when those grown-ups teach Todd the true story of Saint Nicholas and about the spirit of giving.