View source for Waiting for Santa by Steve Metzger and Alison Edgson

{{infobox2
|title=Waiting for Santa
|author=Steve Metzger and Alison Edgson
|reviewer= Zoe Morris
|genre=For Sharing
|summary= Does Santa bring presents to animals? Bear and the gang hope so as they begin their Christmas preparations. So, so cute this is one you'll bring back out every December.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher= Little Tiger Press
|date=September 2015
|isbn= 978-1848691421
|website= http://www.stevemetzgerbooks.com/
|aznuk=1848691424
|aznus=1848691424
|cover=1848691424
}}


We all know Santa goes to the homes of children who have been good all year, but have you ever wondered about our furry friends? Can he detour to forests, parks and woodland? Do bears and mice get treats too?

It's Christmas Eve and Bear is excited. Badger, though, is not feeling it. It's a waste of time. Santa doesn't know about them. No point getting things ready just for them all to be disappointed. Luckily Bear's enthusiasm is contagious, and he soon has Mole and Mouse on board. They spend all day preparing for Santa's arrival but, as night falls, doubts start to creep in.

This is a precious book about belief, friendship, teamwork and a little bit of magic. The illustrations are beautiful and perfect for teeny tiny readers and their bigger siblings. It's a great book for preparing for Christmas and learning about what happens. Even if you don't believe per se, it has some nice rituals like leaving out a snack for Santa. We didn't have Father Christmas in my house growing up, but we knew presents came from Mummy and Mummy liked Wispas so come December 24th a bar or two would be left out next to the stocking, and in the morning the bar would be gone and the presents would be piled high without any need for Old Saint Nick. (Don't feel too bad for me, I turned out ok, honest).

This is a traditional Christmas book, and celebrates things like having a perfect Christmas tree with a shiny gold star on top (as opposed to the meme I saw last year which read ''Stick a selfie on the top of the tree, because you're the freakin' star''). Although the animals are keen to get presents, there's none of that hideous talk about what they want to get, so there are no unrealistic expectations: everyone gets one gift (ONE!) and they don't tear into them immediately. Fancy that.

I wouldn't change a thing about this book. It's ridiculously sweet, has a lovely build up with just the right amount of angst, and then a superb happy ending. Fully recommended, it's one you won't mind reading every day in the run up to December 25th.

Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book. We would also recommend [[The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore and Max Marshall]] as a seasonal classic.  Alison Edgson also illustrated [[The Very Grumpy Day by Stella J Jones and Alison Edgson|The Very Grumpy Day by Stella J Jones]].

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[[Category:Steve Metzger]]
[[Category:Alison Edgson]]