A DANCE WITH SANTA CLAUS

Boynton brings the brio to another celebratory Christmas chorus.

Clad in pastel onesies, seven long-eared rabbit siblings bearing gifts ferry a fir while a lone bunny, who narrates, patiently waits. As the solitary youngster explains to the parental rabbits decorating the tree, “I just want to dance with Santa Claus!” Sure, Santa’s busy, but he’s also “oh so jolly!” so the swing-loving speaker suggests decking the halls “with Buddy Holly.” Radically rejecting commercialism, the small rabbit offers to make a deal: “You can keep all the toys” in exchange for a brief dance with the big guy in red. “It’s not about presents”; it’s about belief—and that faith is joyously rewarded when the sleepless bunny hears a “KUH-THOMPP” from the fireplace. Tan-skinned Santa emerges and issues the all-important invitation. They twirl and jive (a score is provided) for just a moment, but it’s enough. After they bid each other a “Merry Christmas,” the bedded-down bunny cherishes the gift of an enduring memory. The verse comes from a song written for the author’s 2024 Cows and Holly album. Text that has a hand-printed feel alternates with large, colorful serif fonts, potentially aiding beginning readers, while spare but spot-on details in careful compositions provide Boynton’s perennial pictorial panache. No pigs, hippos, or chickens get a look-in, but the bunny’s bedspread is patterned in prancing parallel reindeer.

A gleeful holiday caper.