Santa's Twin
   Dean Koontz
   Illustrated by Phil Parks
  1996 HarperPrism
   ISBN: 0061053554


The hilarious & heartwarming epic poem of Charlotte & Emily who set out to save Santa from his mischievous twin - Bob Claus - who has stolen his brother's sleigh, is plotting to make Donner, Blitzen & the rest into reindeer soup & has stuffed Santa's toy bags with mud pies, cat poop & broccoli! Yum. yum!

Charlotte & Emily, being kids, love the season of Christmas. They dream of it all year long, decorate their trees, salt down the shingles so Santa won't slip on their roof & get ready for the big night.

Something has gone seriously wrong, however, at the North Pole & a very different roly-poly red-clad guy has taken control of things. Whispering nasty ideas into the reindeers' ears - things about reindeer pies, paste & burgers. When this Santa gets into Charlotte & Emily's kitchen he raids the refrigerator, leaving a horrid trail of chaos.

The girls are awakened by the unusually loud noises coming from downstairs, so they decide to explore. What they see gives them pause, until they catch sight of this Santa's mean grimace & hear his despicable language. That's when these intrepid girls stand tall & order this mischievous troll to "freeze".

Which he does, bringing a snowstorm into their sitting room & lobbing a chocolate-cream pie into Charlotte's face. Then, like any bully, he runs away only to slip down their ice-coated steps onto his own face.

That's when Lottie & Emmy get a wild idea - to save Santa, the reindeers & Christmas!

How they do it, the mayhem they make & adventures they fly through make for one fast-telling with many a giggle, exciting corners to glide around & coal cellars to explore.

This is a wonderful, wonderfilled read! Phil Parks' pictures are breathtaking & charming. The whole idea is great fun!

There's a surprise at the very end which had me reading the whole book all over again - checking it once & even twice to find the secrets!

A great family book, perfect for holiday gifts - destined to become a classic!
(12/05/99)

Rebecca