Herbie's Secret Santa: With Audio Recording

by Petra Mathers, Petra Mathers (Illustrator)

Overview

Celebrate the holidays with Lottie and Herbie!

Dressed as Santa and humming a tune, Herbie is ready for Christmas. But when he does something bad -- and wishes he could take it back -- the holidays don't feel very happy. Children everywhere will sympathize with Herbie in Petra Mathers's new picture book, which shows how easy it is to make a mistake...and how hard it is to say you're sorry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481442787
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	03/03/2015
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	36 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Petra Mathers (1945–2024) was the author and illustrator of many picture books, including her beloved Lottie series. Lottie’s New Beach Towel was Book of the Year for Parenting Magazine, and Lottie’s New Friend was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and won the Silver Medal from the New York Society of Illustrators. Petra and her husband, author and photographer Michael Mathers, lived in Astoria, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

Mathers (Lottie's New Beach Towel) brings back best pals Lottie the hen and Herbie the duck. This time out, 'tis the season for Herbie's "bottomless belly" to heed the irresistible call of holiday treats. While shopping with Lottie, Herbie gets a bit of Christmas stuck in his craw (literally) when he can't resist clandestinely munching on a Santa cookie at Ali Baba's bakery. The guilt over his actions quashes his holiday spirit until he sets things right. Mathers's snappy gouache depictions of these favorite fowl-appropriately clad in festive red hats and winter coats-are charming as ever. And Herbie's simple, joyful celebration with Lottie is the perfect denouement. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 1-When Herbie, a duck, eats a Christmas cookie from the bakery without paying for it, he is riddled with guilt and confesses to his friend Lottie, a chicken. With her encouragement, he tells the bakers, all is forgiven, and everyone has a wonderful holiday. Youngsters will easily relate to Herbie's behavior. Mathers's comical approach to his conflict aptly gets the lesson across without a heavy hand. The story is not so much about Christmas as about the spirit of giving and forgiving. The amusing and colorfully detailed watercolor paintings are too small for storytimes, but are great for one-on-one sharing.-M. W. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

With this fourth entry in her Lottie and Herbie series, Mathers (A Cake for Herbie, 2000, etc.) explores the concepts of a guilty conscience and the difficulty of apologizing within an amusing, nontraditional Christmas story. Watercolor panel illustrations in her charming naïve style introduce the animal characters of Lottie and Herbie’s town of Oysterville, with everyone full of holiday good will and involved in Christmas preparations. Herbie the duck and Lottie the hen stop by Ali Baba’s Bakery, where Herbie can’t resist the temptation of a frosted Santa cookie, and his stolen treat sticks in his throat, both literally and figuratively. In her witty, understated text, Mathers deftly shows how Herbie is sick with remorse and sure that everyone knows about the theft, and then shows how hard it is to apologize to those whose trust has been violated. The bakers and Lottie forgive Herbie his trespass and are willing to remain his friends, and in a calm, satisfying conclusion, Herbie gives Lottie a Christmas gift of a handmade gold star that brightens up a cloudy day, just like a warm friendship. In addition to working well as a different sort of Christmas story, this cautionary tale will also serve to ward off any child’s remote idea of shoplifting or even tasting an unauthorized bite of the merchandise. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews