In The 12 Sleighs of Christmas by Sherri Duskey Rinker (illustrated by Jake Parker; Chronicle Books, 2017), the elves take on a design challenge when they discover that Santa’s sleigh needs repairs. The elves scramble to get something made that will work for him on Christmas Eve. In the next few days, the “sleighs” they come up with are fantastical: flying motorcycles, trucks, and even a dragster car and a blimp. In the end, one small elf has fixed up Santa’s own old sleigh, which is just right for Santa’s Christmas journey.
The 12 Sleighs of Christmas is a new fun classic. It can also be considered a STEM-themed book to incorporate into seasonal learning. I used this book as an mentor text as I introduced a challenge to my STEM class students to design their own creative sleighs. I love how there is such a variety of creative transportation portrayed, and the details in the illustrations add to the easily read-aloud rhyming text.
