cover image Porter Searches for Santa

Porter Searches for Santa

Jonathan I. Gonzales. N.B. 498 Press (www.porterpenguin.com), $16.95 (36p) ISBN 978-0-9960610-0-1

In a Christmas story whose modeled clay artwork gives the scenes the feel of stills from a Claymation film, a penguin named Porter receives a letter from a child that was meant for Santa Claus. Porter is determined to discover who Santa is; the "penguin encyclopedia" is no help, but the grumpy yet wise penguin Old Rockhopper might know. Porter and his friend Franklin travel to Snowman Mountain, where Old Rockhopper, who looks rather like a gray tombstone wearing an eye patch, tells boring stories that cause the penguins to sleep through his descriptions of Santa. Finally, Porter's mother tells him about Santa, but as a flightless bird, Porter can't make it to the North Pole on his own. First-time author/illustrator Gonzales accents his images with charming details (such as the pearls Porter's mother wears and the silvery "fishsicles" Porter has for lunch), but the long-winded narrative proceeds slowly, and while much is made of the dangers of Porter's journey to Snowman Mountain and Old Rockhopper's temper, the artwork never gives a sense of significant peril. All ages. (BookLife)