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Santa's Stowaway
What makes Christmas so special? Sam is eager to find out, but none of Santa's other elves will tell him. Would spending Christmas Eve as a stowaway on Santa's sleigh provide the answer? Join Sam as he unwraps the secret of Christmas.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
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23 people want to read
About the author
Brandon Dorman
118 books107 followersThe illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Wizard, written by Jack Prelutsky, as well as Halloween Night, by Marjorie Dennis Murray, and his own Pirates of the Sea! and Santa's Stowaway. He received a degree in fine arts from Bringham Young University--Idaho.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 24, 2018
This wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. I wasn't crazy about the story itself or the way it was handled. It raised questions that I felt weren't fully answered.
Santa inspected the toys on Christmas Eve and announced that Sam, one of the new elves, had done "superb work." I thought it was too big of a word for a picture book. Sam had also made a doll but one of the buttons on her dress was missing. Santa said it was okay and that she was perfect anyway.
Sam asked him why they work so hard making toys and why does Christmas matter. That seemed like sacrilege and a dumb question! Even if it's your first year working in the toy shop, you should know what Christmas is all about and not have to ask why it matters. I didn't like that.
Santa told him he'd have to find out for himself. Sam asked the doll what made Christmas so special, and I thought that was stupid, because why would you ask a doll anything, when they can't answer you? Just a waste of breath.
Sam had the idea to hide in the sleigh to figure it all out. He wondered if it was the reindeer flying, and he wondered what Santa was doing down the chimney. Sam wanted to ask how Santa was going up and down the chimneys and if it was magic, and what he did inside the houses, and how he knew which toys to deliver. I thought those questions would be answered but they were not. I thought it was a terrible and irresponsible decision to make to raise questions and then not answer them. If you're not going to come up with explanations for these things, then don't even bring them to the reader's attention.
Sam eventually decided to hide inside the bag and he saw Santa putting presents under the tree and filling stockings. And then a girl appeared and Santa gave her a toy, and it was the doll Sam had made. The girl declared her to be perfect.
Once they were flying again, Santa spoke to Sam, so he knew he was there all along. He said every year one of the elves hides in the sleigh. He claimed they did it to discover what made Christmas special, but that didn't seem right to me. I didn't buy that elves wanted to know what was so special about Christmas. I thought it more plausible that they were just curious and wanted to know what went down on Christmas and what exactly Santa did with the toys. Sam realized what made Christmas special as he thought back on making the toys and then seeing the girl's smile. It ended with him saying he had his answer and he wished Santa a merry Christmas. Endings are always so sudden in kid's books and this was no exception.
It just wasn't the warm, interesting tale I thought it would be. It was just okay because I didn't really care for the story.
Santa inspected the toys on Christmas Eve and announced that Sam, one of the new elves, had done "superb work." I thought it was too big of a word for a picture book. Sam had also made a doll but one of the buttons on her dress was missing. Santa said it was okay and that she was perfect anyway.
Sam asked him why they work so hard making toys and why does Christmas matter. That seemed like sacrilege and a dumb question! Even if it's your first year working in the toy shop, you should know what Christmas is all about and not have to ask why it matters. I didn't like that.
Santa told him he'd have to find out for himself. Sam asked the doll what made Christmas so special, and I thought that was stupid, because why would you ask a doll anything, when they can't answer you? Just a waste of breath.
Sam had the idea to hide in the sleigh to figure it all out. He wondered if it was the reindeer flying, and he wondered what Santa was doing down the chimney. Sam wanted to ask how Santa was going up and down the chimneys and if it was magic, and what he did inside the houses, and how he knew which toys to deliver. I thought those questions would be answered but they were not. I thought it was a terrible and irresponsible decision to make to raise questions and then not answer them. If you're not going to come up with explanations for these things, then don't even bring them to the reader's attention.
Sam eventually decided to hide inside the bag and he saw Santa putting presents under the tree and filling stockings. And then a girl appeared and Santa gave her a toy, and it was the doll Sam had made. The girl declared her to be perfect.
Once they were flying again, Santa spoke to Sam, so he knew he was there all along. He said every year one of the elves hides in the sleigh. He claimed they did it to discover what made Christmas special, but that didn't seem right to me. I didn't buy that elves wanted to know what was so special about Christmas. I thought it more plausible that they were just curious and wanted to know what went down on Christmas and what exactly Santa did with the toys. Sam realized what made Christmas special as he thought back on making the toys and then seeing the girl's smile. It ended with him saying he had his answer and he wished Santa a merry Christmas. Endings are always so sudden in kid's books and this was no exception.
It just wasn't the warm, interesting tale I thought it would be. It was just okay because I didn't really care for the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2020
Sam, a new elf to Santa's workshop asks what makes Christmas so special? Santa informs him that he has to find out for himself. Sam decides to stowaway on Santa's sleigh on Christmas eve, and what Sam discovers is magical.
December 13, 2022
I like this story.
December 23, 2015
Maybe if the elf had asked what made Santa's job so special, or his own job, or the toys themself if it would have been better. Instead he asked and answered "What makes Christmas so special?", and completely missed the point.
December 6, 2011
A wonderful Christmas tale of the meaning of Christmas
December 4, 2012
Rich, beautiful illustrations by Brandon Dormanin this delightful Christmas tale about what really makes Christmas special. A "feel-good" book.
December 11, 2012
A cute story! The illustrations are wonderful!
December 14, 2012
An elf tries to figure out why Santa bothers making toys for Christmas by stowing away on his sleigh. A heart warming sort of tale.
February 19, 2013
"It was Christmas Eve in Santa's workshop."
Brandon Dorman's illustrations are AMAZING (said in a falsetto voice)! It is a fun book.
Brandon Dorman's illustrations are AMAZING (said in a falsetto voice)! It is a fun book.
December 12, 2015
Not very creative writing, but nice pictures.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews