A review by backonthealex
The Real Santa by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, Nancy Redd

4.0

A young Black boy just loves Christmas, and especially all the brown-faced Santas that are around his home - on the tree, on the gift wrap, even on his sweater. Every year, his family visits Grandma and Grandpa on Christmas Eve, where there's a special present for him and his younger sister this time - a jolly brown-faced Santa complete with list of names including theirs. After some photos and a snack, he asks his Daddy which one in their collection of Santa's looks like the real Santa. As they set out a plate of cookies and glass of milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer, all the adults agree that no one has ever seen the real Santa. No one? Well, this young boy has a great idea. After everyone's asleep, his plan is to sneak downstairs with the brand camera he just received from his parents, and stay awake until Santa's arrival, then to quickly snap a photo. But as the night wears on, sleep overtakes his best intentions. Will this curious young boy ever see what the real Santa looks like? As he is carried off to bed, he wakes up just enough to see that Santa looks just like him. This is such a sweet, gentle, heartwarming story about a happy family celebrating Christmas together. The illustrations are red, white, and green Christmasy, and the book is just a delight to read. My young readers loved it, particularly seeing Santas that look more like them that the usual white Santa.