When Santa Was a Baby

Bailey presents an original, whimsical take on the origin of Santa Claus. The book follows young Santa as he grows up and readers can see how his well-known mannerisms and personality were already shaped at a young age. The book is fun, creative, well-written, and well-illustrated. It is a fun tale and a great addition to any lesson on positive thinking and goal-achievement. It can create some questions about the fate of Santa's parents but in general, the jovial tone and warm illustrations satisfy most readers.

Decent children's book about Santa's eventual traits which show through in childhood and sometimes baffle his parents. Not a brilliant work, but sweet and with lovely illustrations. Good secular Christmas read too.

So... I LOVE holiday books... I think that they are all magical and get you in the spirit and this one is the most epic so far. This adorable children's book is about Santa as a baby. He likes red, he wants to re-gift things and he wants to share with the world and it is so cute. This beautiful and creative book brought a tear of joy to my eye (for real - my husband laughed at me).


Not only was the story wonderful but the illustrations were perfect for it, the vibrant reds and greens and the cherub-esq baby, it was stunning. This has been my favorite holiday book so far this year, I loved everything about it. I normally re-gift these to kids I know but this one might stay in my collection...we will see... it is the season of giving show more after all... show less

This book was cute (seems to be a theme in the reviews too), but what I really liked about it was that it is a Santa origin story where he actually has parents. Obviously for the picture book crowd, the question of Santa's parents isn't that major, but I've read a lot of Santa origin stories and inevitably Santa is about as likely to have two living parents as a Disney princess. So, kudos for that. The story is simple and predictable, but the art is adorable and it definitely plays well to early association psychology.

Canadian author Linda Bailey’s newest picture book focuses on Santa, and his story of growing up. Born to perfectly normal parents, from his first “Ho, Ho, Ho” to his choice of red every single time, Santa has a relatively normal upbringing. He plays with other children, he goes to school and has an odd interest in chimneys. Of course, Santa ends up following his childhood dream, and moves to the North Pole, where he builds a toy-making workshop, and well, the rest is history…

This lovely book is a wonderful addition to any elementary school’s Christmas picture book collection. My students asked to read it again and again, and absolutely loved the beautiful illustrations by Genevieve Godbout. For a new take on an old story, show more this book is hard to beat! show less

This was a delightful book with endearing illustrations. I will admit that I chose it based on the pictures. I was happy that the story was also adorable. I enjoyed reading it to my son in preparation for his first Christmas. He is eight weeks old so I don't know what he thought of the story but he thoroughly enjoyed the book as I pointed out some of the most entertaining parts of the illustrations (ie: baby Santa's rosy cheeked bottom as he stands in front of the refrigerator to cool off, and the nine reindeer in the picture that immediately follows the line that says he trained "eight reindeer" - my son smiled and laughed as I counted them over and over again). I love this book and look forward to reading it with him a few more times show more this year but, mostly, for next year when he will understand the story. show less

This was such a cute, original book to read. Despite the fact that this book is a board book, it is not just for toddlers. I read this book to my KG to third graders and they all loved the story, especially those 9 year olds.
The story begins when Santa is just born and his parents are puzzled by his odd behavior. He likes only red, he hates warm weather, he gives away his Christmas presents and also likes to boom, "Ho, ho, ho!" His mom and dad keep taking guesses at what Santa will be when he grows up.
What a great, fun book to read and with beautiful illustrations. This one will be a keeper to read year after year. I received a complimentary book from Librarything Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.