Review: Santa Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Santa Bruce
by Ryan T. Higgins [currently available from the libraries only as an E-book, but hopefully soon also as a hardback jP picture book]

Grumpy and curmudgeonly bear Bruce returns in a holiday tale. The series of “Bruce” picture books for kids is a personal favorite of mine — the artwork and storytelling by Ryan T. Higgins is superb and exceptionally humorous. In earlier volumes in the series, grumpy bear Bruce is accidentally adopted as a “mother” by a bunch of baby goslings. In another, Bruce is coerced into turning his home into a hotel by his adopted kids, and by the pushy comical mice that have moved in with him. In this Christmas volume, Bruce is wearing a read coat and hat while outside in the snow, and is mistaken for Santa Claus. His “kids” and the mice do nothing to dissuade this and, in fact, work to convince Bruce to take on the role of Santa for all their neighbors’ and friends’ children. The humor is sweet and simple and the artwork is highly detailed. As someone in their mid-50s, even without kids or grand-kids of my own, I still enjoy and appreciate Higgins’ work. If you’ve got kids to read picture books to, they’ll love this entire series, and December’s a perfect time to introduce them to Santa Bruce!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the other books in the “Bruce” series by Ryan T. Higgins, or his other picture books, including Be Quiet!, or We Don’t Eat Our Classmates!] [ official Ryan T. Higgins web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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