Laine Mitchell (text), Louis Shea (illus), We’re Going On A Santa Hunt, Scholastic Australia, 1 October 2015, 24pp., $19.99 (includes CD), ISBN 9781743626429
A Christmas appropriation of the classic We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, this Australian picture book cheerfully follows five friends as they hunt down the elusive Santa Claus. A young polar bear, reindeer, mouse, penguin and husky dog write their letters to Santa and tell us they are ‘going on a Santa hunt’ and were ‘going to find the jolly one’. They meet all manner of adventure on the Polar Express, jumping on a sled race and getting tangled in Christmas trees and sooty chimneys. There is nothing particularly Australian about this picture book but the illustrations pop with colour and should please pre school readers who will recognise the familiar ‘Bear Hunt’ riffs.
Reviewed by Angie Holst