When Santa's knocked out cold by a Jack-in-the-Boxer's walloping punch, deli owner Murray Kleiner reluctantly agrees to take his place. The suit doesn't fit, Murray smells a bit like pickles, and there's no way he can remember the names of all those reindeer. But with the help of a pushy elf and an eager-to-believe young boy, Murray finds out that even though he's not big enough to fill Santa's suit, he's got more than enough heart to get the job done.

* Reiss scores a bull's-eye with this hilarious debut. Catrow's puckish watercolors are equal to Reiss's wit and lightning pace. --Publishers Weekly, starred review

Finally, a Christmas book that lives up to its title! --Matthew Groening, creator of The Simpsons