I don’t mean to play favorites, but I can’t help it: this is my favorite Christmas book of the year.  Muth, the watercolor genius who brought us Zen Ties and The Three Questions, brings Thompson’s words to life with just the right glow of wonder and whimsy.  The first page tells us about Santa’s “snug little house with a bright red door,” and we see it— set on a snow-covered, reindeer-dappled field, with a curving horizon and aurora borealis that looks perfectly polar.  The details in the text and illustrations complement one another— on the page where Santa polishes his sleigh until it “softly gleams,” we not only see the shiny red results, but also a pulley system and all sorts of tools, and when we peek into his toy room, Muth fans will spot a familiar Stillwater the panda .  Santa prepares for the big day with simple traditions: polishing a jingle harness, darning his thickest socks, and trimming his famous facial hair.  When Christmas comes, “the night begins to thrum with magic, the kind of magic that makes reindeer fly.”  This gorgeous book keeps me believing.  I deem it a new classic!   ~Tegan