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Five Faves: Not Quite Santa

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Ho! Ho! Ho! Someone's on their way! But... it's not Santa. Someone, or something else, has taken up the mantle of the jolly old elf and there's bound to be hijinks involved! Which one will you or your little one think is the most outrageous counterfeit? Here's five books about some of our favorite Claus-impersonators!

Written by Bridget Heos
Illustrated by Galia Bernstein
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2025. Picture Book.

It's a Cretaceous Christmas celebration! With a Tyrannosaurus Rex taking the lead as "Santa Claws," young mosasaurs and gallimimuses are getting ready for the Christmas season and making sure to leave nice slabs of raw meat out for the titular character. Dinosaur-loving young ones will enjoy seeing the prehistoric creatures doing similar holiday prep as they are, while older readers will enjoy the informational back matter. All in all, nothing beats a rhyming text packed with Cretaceous vocabulary and seeing a t-rex in a sleigh pulled by pterosaurs.

Written by Ethan T. Berlin
Illustrated by Edwardian Taylor
New York: Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic, 2021. Picture Book.

In this silly holiday tale, Santa has forgotten the gift of a young child up at the North Pole. Not wanting anything to seem off, Santa enlists the help of the only creature around—a cow—to stand in as he rushes back to grab the present. However, with her cowbell, mooing, hooves, and ability to produce milk, the child isn't convinced of the cow's disguise. She ultimately stalls long enough for Santa to return with several more presents than expected.

Written by Bridget Heos
Illustrated by Galia Bernstein
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2021. Picture Book.

In this rhyming picture book, sharks of all kinds await the arrival of "Santa Jaws." His elfin sharks make toys from shells to give to good sharks, and he provides rotten fish for the bad ones. Shark lovers will love seeing the shark-flavored hijinks and the informational pages about the eight featured sharks in the back.

Written by Suzy Senior
Illustrated by Lucy Semple
Wilton, CT: Tigertales, 2023. Picture Book.

As Cinderella cleans up messes from her mean step-sisters, she hopes for a fairy godmother to rescue her. But instead, it's Santa who appears down the chimney! Having hurt his back, he needs Cinderella to take charge of delivering the presents all over the world. Happy to help, Cinderella departs on her adventure, which opens her eyes enough to help her choose her own happily ever after.

By T. L. McBeth
New York: Flamingo Books, 2024. Picture Book.

Has your child ever seen an older man with a long white beard, a jolly disposition, wearing red and they thought the man was Santa? To be honest, I've had that thought as an adult this time of year. I Am Not Santa Claus tells that story of a young boy who is sure that the man he just met is Saint Nick. In addition to how he looks, he drives a red truck, lives on N. Pole Drive, and has a workshop in his house! The older man insists that he is not Santa Claus all before the "wild reindeer" fly him, his "truck," and a sack full of "trinkets" across the sky.
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