Guam and Fiji are first for gift delivery, followed by New Zealand. Santa starts singing his favorite Christmas carol, and he stops to pet every dog. Santa loves dogs, and they love him, but that takes time and there’s none to spare. As Santa plays with a puppy named Tugboat, Spark says it’s time to go.
At halfway around the world and with the bag half-empty, the sleigh starts falling behind. Santa needs to step it up, but he’s too busy enjoying the cookies that kids have left for him. Santa loves cookies—except ginger snaps. Those are the ones he gives to Spark, Bobbin, and Nutshell.
Spark would love it if you’d leave more gingersnaps.
With nine hours to go, they finish Mexico City. Four hours to go, and they’re done with South America so Santa takes a minute to play with the toys. Spark urges him to hurry. It’s almost Christmas morning…
And with a half-hour to go, they finish!
But there’s something left in Santa’s sack. It’s something very important that someone will miss very, very much. Can St. Nick save Christmas in the nick of time?
Oh my, but there’s all kinds of cute inside “Memoirs of an Elf.”
Spark Elf may be my new Christmas hero, in fact, because author Devin Scillian gives him a Type-A personality mixed with just the right kind of holiday sweetness. Spark is businesslike and efficient, yet he still appreciates the tiny things that make the Yule cool, and he’s eager to share secrets with kids who are lucky enough to have this book.
But Spark isn’t the only irresistible thing here: I was totally charmed by the illustrations from Tim Bowers. They made me want to read this book all over again.
(“Memoirs of an Elf” by Devin Scillian, illustrated by Tim Bowers, c. 2014, Sleeping Bear Press, $16.99/$17.99 Canada,32 pages.)
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