It’s Christmas Eve and the rainforest animals cram against one another to see an incredible sight. Santa and his reindeers have landed! A catastrophe has occurred on their special night! Comet has collided with an albatross and sprained her ankle.
Santa needs help!
He announces to the animals that an audition for a temporary replacement will take place at sunset. His Christmas magic can make anyone fly. But only a special kind of animal will do.
Snap the sugar glider, small though he is, decides this could be his time to prove his worth; to reach his full potential.
But so do all the other animals. Bouncy Warren the wallaby believes he is the one. Rufus the owl, who claims to own the night sky, scoffs at this assumption. He was definitely the one!
Snap shows off his gliding expertise to reinforce his talent. Everyone laughs. He is too little for the triple twist; to pull the sleigh. In fact, too little for anything much.
The auditions see Cass the Cassowary dance, Gemma the goanna glide, and Colin the crocodile snap and roll. Each animal takes their turn to show off their skills.
With auditions almost over, and as Santa calls for anyone else, Comet stretches out to pick a leaf of a stinging tree.
Snap soars and glides, twists and drops right onto Comet’s back, causing him to eject the leaf from his mouth in surprise.
Santa sees Snap is just what he needs. With a finger movement, and his Christmas magic, Santa has the sugar glider floating in the air. He becomes the littlest animal to pull Santa’s sleigh!
Festive front end pages in green leaves and coloured baubles welcome you into an Australian Christmas delight.
Looping text matches Snap, the sugar glider’s preference of movement. Expressive animal body language speaks louder than words. Hooray for a wonderful Aussie Christmas tale!
Title: Santa and the Sugar Glider
Author: Alexa Moses
Illustrator: Anil Tortop
Publisher: Hachette, $19.99
Publication Date: 1 October 2020
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780734419521
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book