Description

It’s Christmas Eve on Merryhill Farm, and Charlie can’t fall asleep. There’s a loud crash on the roof — and who should appear but Santa and a broken-down sleigh. Now how will all the children in the world receive their presents? Dumpy comes to the rescue, of course, as Santa and Charlie load up Dumpy’s dumper with toys, hitch up the reindeer, and set off ona glorious star-filled journey around the globe spreading love and goodwill wherever they go. Tony Walton’s soft nostalgic artwork evokes the beauty of the American farm and lends a classic, old-fashioned feel to the Dumpy books.
Victorious in the schoolyard and rescued from the barn, this huggable red dump truck still keeps chugging along–much to the relief of a stressed-out Santa Claus.

The team of Julie “Mary Poppins” Andrews Edwards and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton delivers another sweet, simple story from good ol’ Merryhill Farm. It’s Christmas Eve, and Charlie’s just tucking in Dumpy for the night with a little help from bushy-bearded Pop-Up and a trusty can of antifreeze. All seems well as Charlie draws up his wish list and hits the hay early, but then he’s awakened by a startling “THUMP!” at his window. It’s Santa, and he’s wrecked his sleigh right on Charlie’s roof! What else could possibly hold all those presents and still keep Santa on schedule? It would take some sort of… dump truck or something.

This dream-sequence tale (ooh, or was it?) doesn’t break any new narrative ground, but the wholesome adventure–along with Tony Walton’s unassuming, folksy illustrations–will please fans of Dumpy and his kind human friends. (Ages 4 to 8) –Paul Hughes