Reindeer Dust by Kate Dwyer

Christmas is my favorite time of year – even if I hate the cold. So today, as part of A Month of Favorites, I thought I’d share a review of a new Christmas picture book I received this year. A Month of Favorites is hosted by Girlxoxo, Traveling with T and Estella’s Revenge. Today we’re linking up at Estella’s Revenge.

Reindeer Dust by Kate Dwyer
Illustrator: Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
Published by the author on September 1, 2014
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Picture Book
Pages: 32
Format: eARC
Purchase at Bookshop.org
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In a fun and lyrical tale, readers are immersed in the story of hungry and harried reindeer who can’t find houses to land on through thick fog. Santa has a sled overflowing with presents, but he’ll never be able to deliver them if the reindeer don’t know where to land! One little boy, William, devises a plan: he mixes up a special batch of reindeer dust and he and his friends and family sprinkle it outside while reciting “I will always believe!” Through the fog, the reindeer are able to spot the glittering trail of reindeer dust, and Christmas is saved!

When Amber was little, we always put out milk and cookies for Santa, but she’s always been an animal lover, so we couldn’t forget about the reindeer. They got carrots, but I bet they would have preferred reindeer dust.

This is a cute story. Santa’s got so many presents to deliver that he doesn’t have time to feed his reindeer and, to make matters worse, it’s a foggy night. Happily, William has been watching the weather reports and comes up with a plan to help Santa find his and his friends’ houses – reindeer dust. Don’t worry, the recipe’s included in the book.

I like that the kid comes up with a plan and he and his friends all work together to accomplish their goal. And of course, Christmas morning comes with all the presents and treats. It is a book about the magic of Christmas. It is about stuff though, about making sure Santa can find you to bring you presents. The reindeer dust isn’t sprinkled to make sure they have some goodies too, it’s so they can find your house even in the fog.

It’s a cute, rhyming book, with nice, whimsical illustrations just like the cover, a good one to read aloud. I can see it being a perfect book for Christmas Eve. After reading it, you could put together your own pouch of reindeer dust and go outside and sprinkle it around. It could be a fun family tradition.