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Summary
Summary
A New York Times bestseller!
From the celebrated creator of Red and Lulu comes the story of a brave little doe who meets Santa and changes Christmas forever.
Dasher is an adventurous young reindeer with a wish in her heart. She spends her days with her family under the hot sun in a traveling circus, but she longs for a different life -- one where there is snow beneath her hooves and the North Star above her head. One day, when the opportunity arises, Dasher seizes her destiny and takes off in pursuit of the life she wants to live. It's not long before she meets a nice man in a red suit with a horse-drawn sleigh -- a man named Santa. And soon, with the help of a powerful Christmas wish, nothing will be the same.
Author Notes
Matt Tavares was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1975.
Matt wrote and illustrated his first picture book, Sebastian's Ball, as his senior thesis at Bates College. Three years later, after much revision, Sebastian's Ball became Zachary's Ball, his first published picture book. Since then, Matt has published a number of books.
Matt's books have won several awards, including three Parents' Choice Gold Awards, a Parents' Choice Silver Honor, two Oppenheim Gold Seal Awards, and an International Reading Association Children's Book Award.
Matt lives in Ogunquit, Maine with his wife, Sarah, and their two daughters.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this prequel to the Rudolph story, Tavares explains how Santa ended up with his original reindeer crew. Young Dasher and her reindeer family languish in a circus, displayed as zoo animals under the hot sun by day and pulling the menagerie's wagons at night. "The air was crisp and cold," says Mama, recalling her birthplace under the North Star, "and the ground was always covered with a cool blanket of white snow." Seizing an opportunity to escape, Dasher follows the North Star, and finds Santa and Silverbell--an affable, plodding horse who struggles to pull the heavy load: "I'm sorry, Santa. The sleigh is just so heavy this year." Happily for all, a bit of magic assists gift delivery, and Santa's gratitude leads to granted wishes and a reindeer reunion. Tavares's classically painted figures are lit by moonlight and falling snow in this cozy antidote to holiday hullabaloo. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)
Horn Book Review
Long ago, a reindeer family in a traveling circus and menagerie lived, unhappily, far from the North Star and that magical place where "the air was crisp and cold, and the ground was always covered with a cool blanket of white snow." Echoes of these soothing phrases repeat throughout as youngest reindeer Dasher escapes; helps Santa and his horse, Silverbell; and finds a new home for her family at the North Pole. While Tavares leaves some details to readers' imaginations (what magic makes the reindeer all-of-a-sudden fly?), Dasher's personality is clearly conveyed through her fervent wish for a better life, and her love of her family...and of carrots. Tavares's painterly watercolor, gouache, pencil, and pastel illustrations reflect the pleasantly nostalgic tone used throughout this Santa's-reindeer origin story. Cynthia K. Ritter November/December 2019 p.35(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An origin story for Santa's "eight tiny reindeer."Nearly two centuries after "A Visit From St. Nicholas" originated Santa Claus' "coursers" and "called them by name," Tavares offers readers their backstory, centered on "a brave young doe named Dasher." First, the frontmatter notes "a timewhen Santa's sleigh was pulledby a single horse, named Silverbell." Ensuing pages depict not a wintry scene of Santa and Silverbell but a parched landscape with a crowd of people peering at penned reindeer as part of the cruel J.P. Finnegan's Traveling Circus and Menagerie. Illustrated details in clothing and material culture suggest a 19th-century American setting, but the focus is on the animals' cramped misery. Though kind children provide solace through carrots and smiles, Dasher's main comfort comes from her mother's stories of a northern homeland with "crisp, cold air and cool blankets of white snow." One windy night, the pen's gate blows open and Dasher escapes. While following the North Star, she encounters Santa (depicted as a white-bearded white man) and a weary Silverbell and offers to help pull the sleigh. Tavares' art is at its best in such magical scenes, which fairly beg to be made into Christmas cards, but the storytelling falters due to the ease with which the other reindeer escape when Santa grants Dasher her "best wish yet" and rescues her family.Gorgeous illustrations make this one sure to fly off shelves "like the down of a thistle." (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Dasher, a reindeer, doesn't want to live her life as part of J. P. Finnegan's Traveling Circus and Menagerie. She's only happy when children come to view the circus reindeer and feed them carrots. Dasher dreams of the land her mother once lovingly described: It was a magical place, she would say. The air was crisp and cold, and the ground was always covered with a cool blanket of white snow. When the opportunity for freedom presents itself, Dasher reluctantly leaves her family behind and runs away. Traveling north to her parents' homeland, she encounters a bearded man with a sleigh filled with gifts. His horse is having trouble pulling the heavy vehicle, so Dasher offers to help. Richly colored illustrations in watercolor, gouache, pencil, and pastel delineate the history of how Dasher volunteered to pull Santa's sleigh and help him bring joy to children on Christmas. Readers will enjoy this lush new holiday tale that focuses on Santa's original reindeer.--Maryann Owen Copyright 2010 Booklist
