The House That Santa Built

by Dianne de Las Casas, Holly Stone-Barker (Illustrator)

Children will love to sing along with this holiday version of The House That Jack Built. Santa's house is inhabited by a mouse, an elf, a reindeer, a bell, a snowman, a boy, a girl, a baby, and Santa himself. Just as with The House That Witchy Built, Dianne de Las Casas includes claps and sounds for each element, from the girl's kiss (smooch! smooch!) to the elf's laugh (hee, hee). Holly Stone-Barker's intricate cut-paper illustrations accompany the text for a holiday experience that is sure to become an instant family classic.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2013

About the author

Dianne de Las Casas was an award-winning author, storyteller, and founder of Picture Book Month. Her performances, dubbed “revved-up storytelling” were full of energetic audience participation. The author of 24 books, Dianne was the International Reading Association LEADER 2014 Poet Laureate, and the 2014 recipient of the Ann Martin Book Mark award. Her children’s titles include The Cajun Cornbread Boy, There’s a Dragon in the Library, The Little “Read” Hen, The House That Santa Built, and Cinderellaphant. She was also the mom of Kid Chef Eliana, a 14-year-old award-winning chef, cookbook author, and radio show host. Visit her website at diannedelascasas.com. Visit Picture Book Month at PictureBookMonth.com. Twitter & Instagram: @AuthorDianneDLC Facebook: fanofdianne

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like the moral and the repetition and inter-activeness of this story, but I'm not a fan of collage artwork. Nor am I a fan of the boy saying "pfffft, pfffft" (what does that even mean?) and then the girl "that kissed the boy (smooch, smooch) that built the snowman"... What on earth? Couldn't the author come up with something better for the girl than kissing a boy? I know some of you will say I'm being too sensitive, but come on! The boy gets to build a snowman, the snowman gets to ring a bell, the reindeer get to stomp, even the elf gets to laugh, but the best the girl can do it kiss the boy?? Ugh. Not recommended, which is sad because the idea is great, the execution is lacking.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very repetitive and I get it, but I thought the boy's sound was weird and didn't understand why he made that sound. Then the girl smooching him made me uncomfortable. The elf's "hehe" also creeped me out, along with the illustration of the elf. Not a fan of this book because of the story and the art.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun cumulative story that can be enjoyed by a group of children, a family at Christmas, or just by oneself. The sound affects make it interactive and the illustrations are wonderful.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and engaging Christmas read-aloud.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Repetitive storya bout the house that santa built, the boy and the elf and the reindeer etc, with lots of interactive sounds.

[Dee Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Christmas read aloud with additive sound effects. Reminds me

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun book with adorable paper cut illustrations. Repeating text and sounds make this fun for kids to participate in!

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the style of "This is the House that Jack Built" this audience participation read is full of sound effects for listeners to chime in on.

Artwork consists of papercut collage.

Some of the sound effects are a little strange (i.e. thumpety thump for the snowman), but the ending is good and there's a lot of fun to be had for PreK-2.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the sound effects, the illustrations, and the moral of the story.