Social Distance Santa

This was a thoughtful instinct — using Santa to help children make sense of pandemic disruption — and the bright illustrations give it some warmth. But the inconsistent rhyme scheme actively interferes with the read-aloud experience, the story lacks a coherent arc, and as the pandemic recedes the topicality that was its entire reason for existing fades with it. There are better holiday books and better pandemic-explanation books; this sits awkwardly between them.