Santa's Book of Names

Edward #1

by David McPhail

Illustrated throughout with stunning watercolor nightscapes of snowy winter scenes, Santa's Book of Names depicts all the warmth and spirit of this special time of year in a story about a young boy who learns to read with Santa's help. David McPhail's inspirational holiday story emphasizes the importance of literacy while reminding readers that with patience and practice, you can achieve just about anything .

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Fantasy, Kids, Books About Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

About the author

David was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts and attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. While there, he began illustrating. He is now an award-winning author and illustrator of nearly 200 books beloved by children, parents and librarians across the United States. McPhail has garnered many prestigious awards, including a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year for Mole Music in 2001. McPhail’s other books include First Flight, which the New York Times praised as “hilarious and helpful”; and Lost!, which was chosen as an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists.

McPhail has four children, three stepchildren, and is a proud grandfather. He is married to Jan Waldron, with whom he has written and illustrated several books. He lives in Rye, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Tiara Patterson]

I did not care to much for this book. When Edward was forced to read for Santa, he was doing the exact same thing he would do if he was reading alone in his room. There was not anything about inspiring Edward to learn how to read because he was already trying to learn on his own. To me, it is like it took the magic of Santa to get Edward to actually read instead of just working on it. Also, the mother denied testing for her child to see if he may need additional help learning how to read. If he did have a disability and did not receive the proper help for it, he may become frustrated and the want to learn how to read may decrease in time.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edward is enlisted to help Santa read from his "Book of Names" when Santa loses his spectacles. One problem: Edward can't read. Faced with this ultimate motivation, Edward musters the ability to sound out the words and--voila--he can read. While reading specialists might take issue with this simplistic, phonic solution (?), the story is more about how empowering it is to read. Great holiday readaloud.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great pictures, great story, great main character, rather original story....yeah, I liked this book. Its nice to see how the spirit of Christmas and the kindness of another can help influence a love of reading. I especially love the fact that Edward's parents refused to let the school test him and categorize him. They believed in him as every good parent should believe in their child. Very commendable =)

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

42 months - a nice holiday book that was very timely for my 3 1/2 year old who is learning to read. I think people read too much into the Mother denying testing when the teacher sends home a note. Kids are ready to read at different ages some not until they are 7-8 years. My child has been verbal and into books and reading since birth, it seems, but she's slower with manual dexterity things. I on the other hand struggled for years with reading yet I eventually got it and was an honors student in high school and finished a Master's degree. Maybe the Mother just understands her child's strengths and knows that he may take a bit longer to catch on to reading. Sometimes it just requires someone or something special to motivate an early reader and some Christmas Magic might be what's needed.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a charming Christmas book. A story about a young reluctant reader that comes to the understanding of how reading is vastly important --- especially on Santa's most important night of the year.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat dumb story, but the pictures were lovely.

[Jayme Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

The topic of this book was super interesting, but there was no overall wow factor for me. The font of the words was clear and the actual content was very descriptive. The illustrations of this book were not my style. I enjoy more clear and crisp pictures, while this book had more dull and fuzzy pictures. Overall it was a well written book and allowed the reader to clearly picture everything happening. This was a fun story and had an uplifting feeling to it.
The book starts off with the main character, Edward, not being able to read his bedtime story with his father on the night of Christmas Eve. When his parents go to bed, Edward hears a noise and goes down stairs to see what it was. He finds that Santa left his gifts and also left his Book of Names behind. Edward goes outside to see if he can give the book back to Santa, and Santa eventually comes back and asks Edward to come with to read the book to him. Edward tells Santa he cannot read but still come along. Santa loses his glasses and cannot read the book, he is now counting on Edward to read the book to him. Will Edward be able to read the book to Santa? You will have to read to find out.

[Lauren Grosch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Santa's Book of Names. I thought it was a creative story. It's about a little boy, named Edward, who doesn't know how to read. On Christmas Eve, he hears santa but when he gets downstairs only the presents are left. He sees a book on the floor and realizes Santa must have dropped it. He goes outside and tries to yell but Santa can't hear him. He decides to write a giant "B" for book in his yard. Santa comes back and invites the little boy to deliver the rest of the presents. Santa's glasses get knocked off and he can't read his book of names anymore so he asks Edward to do it. Edward sounds out the words and helps Santa deliver all the presents.
The pictures in this book were laid out well. There was a page with words and a small picture and a page with a full picture on every page. There was only one page that had a full picture on both sides so that was a little more difficult to read. The book was a little bit wordy but I thought it was a really good story. The font was smaller to fit all the words but still very easy to read. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

[Chrissy Muller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about a young boy who didn't know how to read. I found it to be very similar to "When Will I Read" by Miriam Cohen. In this story, Santa had forgot his book and needed an assistant to read it to him. When he got his book back from the boy, Santa asked him to ride along. In doing so, the boy learned to read after a series of unfortunate events. This book was very inspirational, and I would read it to my students during the holidays. The illustrations were very life-like, and while reading, you could actually feel cold while he was outside, and warm when the POV was looking through the fireplace into the living room! I really liked this aspect of the book.

[Danielle Boles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a story that emphasized the warmth and happiness of the holiday season meanwhile talking about a little boy who learns to read with a little help from Santa. McPhail also talks about the importance of literacy and the importance of patience. I think this is a good message to send children because not all children are going to be literate from the first time they pick up a book; they need to learn patience. Some impatient children may not pick up another book voluntarily because they were so discouraged the first time, so I do agree with McPhail's emphasis on patience with literacy.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved that in this imaginative tale David McPhail combined the subjects of Christmas and reading together in one book. This uplifting story will help mend the fears of children, who are a bit slow at mastering reading, and their parents. But I could have done without the part in the story where the parents chose to ignore the teacher's advice which felt like another slam against teachers. In this case Edward had a positive outcome, but in another child's case such rejection may have resulted in a child falling further and further behind.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books that is supposed to tug on your strings and make you feel all warm inside. It failed to do so. It's a novel concept, but it missed its mark for me.

The boy hasn't learned to read yet. On Christmas he found that Santa had dropped his book that explains what gift to leave for each child. David returns the book to Santa who then asks him to come along in the sleigh as he delivers the toys. By the end of the evening, David has learned to read.

Eh.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young boy who has difficulty with reading discovers that Santa has left his book of names behind. When he gets Santa's attention and returns the book, Santa invites him to take the big trip, helping to read the names of those on the good list.

This book has been criticized by some for its treatment of reading and how it happens. I am giving it all five stars for being about Christmas. . .and Santa. . .and books. . .and reading. We can discuss the particulars after January 1st (wink).

[Sarah Winters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another great book for the holidays; it has very detailed pictures and an interesting story-line. I liked the part where it showed Edward sounding out the names in the book; this would reinforce the skill of sounding out unknown words with students. I would recommend this book for first to third graders, depending on the reading level.

[Kay Mcgriff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story of Edward, who is good at math and can name most of the dinosaurs, but can't quite read yet. His parents say "wait," and then one Christmas night Santa drops his book of names. Edward finds it, and Santa invites him along for the journey in the sleigh. A magical book the wraps up Christmas and the magic of reading.

[Lizz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite holiday book of all time. Great art work great inspiring story that reminds me why I loved Christmas so much growing up. I had this book memorized when I was younger, I read it that often. I still read it every Christmas.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute book. I'm tempted to add this heartwarming story, about a little boy who struggles with reading learning to read by helping Santa get through his book of names on Christmas Eve, to our permanent collection. Charming illustrations.

[Alexandria K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so cute. The pictures are nice, and the story is adorable, too.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprised to discover that this is a prequel to a favorite, Edward and the Pirates.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! It is such a heartfelt, inspirational book. The illustrations are beautiful. Great for inspiring struggling readers and a wonderful Christmas story.

[Jeani · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a neat story about the power of reading!

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although good with numbers, young Edward struggles with his reading in this delightful Christmas picture book from author/illustrator David McPhail. His teacher suggests special testing, but Edward's mother insists that what is needed is patience. Then one Christmas Eve night, when Santa Claus accidentally leaves his book behind at Edward's house—the book containing the names, addresses and presents intended for each child on Santa's list—it falls to our young reluctant reader to overcome the obstacles before him, and to help the magical gift giver out, learning that he can indeed read in the process...

The first of three picture books from McPhail to feature young Edward—subsequent titles are Edward and the Pirates and Edward in the Jungle —Santa's Book of Names is the second I have read, as I happened to pick up Edward and the Pirates a few years ago, not realizing it was part of a larger series. In any case, having enjoyed the subsequent book so much, I decided to seek out this earlier adventure, and I am not sorry to have done so. While the later book featured Edward's love of stories and of books, this initial tale chronicles how Edward first came to read. I appreciated the fact that while Santa's official present for Edward is a book, the true gift he gives is an appreciation for reading itself. The artwork here is lovely, making excellent use of color and light to create some enchanting vistas. My favorite of the lot, visually speaking, was the two-page spread in which Santa and Edward fly through the city, navigating between towering skyscrapers. Recommended to young children who are struggling with their own reading, as well as to all picture book audiences which appreciate magical Santa stories.

Note: If half stars were available, I would award this 3.5 stars, as I did enjoy it slightly less than the subsequent book, but as they are not, I have rounded up to 4 stars, in honor of the magic of the season.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Depends on how old Edward is and how motivated. Patience, if he's little, is fine, but if he's almost nine and still struggling, he's not going to just have an epiphany, but rather he does need to be tested for dyslexia or whatever. He's not a reluctant reader yet, but he will become one if he's given insufficient support to learn.

I see this is the first Edward story. McPhail was writing awhile ago and it seems most of his books have been weeded out of libraries, but I'll see if I can find more.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The moody illustrations in this picture book, perfectly capture both the cozy and the wintry, the comforting and the mysterious, of a Santa Claus tale. Typical McPhail style for lovers of his work featuring his signature palette and texture. Predictably longer text with alternating text or illustrated pages lend a gift-book feel to this 90s creation. I love the addition of corner borders on the story pages even if they did repeat. A charming main character who must overcome a reading disability and easter eggs for the observant reader make this a must-have for collectors of picture books.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so sweet and my kids all gave it a thumbs up at the end of reading it. We loved that Santa did something so kind for Edward and how the book led to that big moment. My kids loved the detailed illustrations in this book that didn't have any bright colors but colors of things that make it so real. This book is a for sure read with all kids but especially those who are learning to read.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely story is of a boy who not only helps santa out, but learns to have faith in his reading abilities at the same time. The illustrations are a bit old fashioned but they are lovely.
#Wintergames #teamreadnosereindeer +26

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy loves stories but is having trouble reading them till one magic night on Santa's sled. Elementary and up

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

[Norkett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story of how Santa helped a young boy learn to read.

[jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful and the story is cute.