Common Sense Media Review
By Regan McMahon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
The barnyard pranksters almost block Santa in funny tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
It's Christmas Eve, and Duck dons his night goggles and climbs up to the top of the barn to take a zip line to Farmer Brown's roof. Farmer Brown hears a jingle and a swoosh and thinks it's Santa, so he hurries off to bed. Duck has something in his backpack for Farmer Brown and wants to give it to him Santa-style: down the chimney. But he gets stuck, and the sheep go up to help him get unstuck. Then they get stuck, too, as do the cows, pigs, goats, mice, roosters, cat, and dog! "Ho! Ho! Uh-oh./Everyone is stuck!" Santa arrives and magically zooms down the chimney, sending all the animals and a cloud of soot into Famer Brown's living room. Soon "all the creatures are stirring" around the tree. Then Duck pulls out what he brought: the star for the top of the tree. When Santa flies away in his reindeer-drawn sleigh, we see he's wearing Duck's night goggles.
Is It Any Good?
It's always fun to see the crazy antics of Farmer Brown's animals, and their good-hearted nature shines in this fun holiday tale. CLICK, CLACK, HO! HO! HO! is a charming addition to the series, with a wonderful wintry palette of blue-and-white snowy landscapes and cherry-red, green, and yellow watercolors for the interior scenes. Illustrator Betsy Lewin's strong black outlines make all the cartoon-like images pop.
There are also plenty of small details to pore over amid the simple story: labeled stockings hung for Mice, Pigs, Sheep, and Cows; a pig and cat opening the ornament box; a goat and cow stringing the lights on the Christmas tree; and mice stirring a cup of hot chocolate. It's a happy holiday hit!
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about holidays. How do you celebrate at your house?
Have you read other books in this series? Do you think Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho! is as funny as the other books?
What's funny about Duck? Why is he always making mischief? The animals seem to drive Farmer Brown crazy, but he really likes them. How can you tell he does in this story?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Betsy Lewin
- Genre : Holiday
- Topics : Animals , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Atheneum
- Publication date : September 22, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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