Review of Santa Claws

by Elissa Gershowitz
Nov 24, 2025 | Filed in Book Reviews

Santa Claws Santa Claws
by Bridget Heos; illus. by Galia Bernstein
Preschool, Primary    Holt    40 pp.
9/25    9781250909497    $18.99

“While kids scrawl notes to Santa Claus, /Hatchlings write to Santa Claws.” This companion to shark-themed Santa Jaws (rev. 11/21) focuses on the prehistoric world. Santa is a T-rex, the elves are pachycephalosauruses, and Heos crafts such spry creature-themed lines as: “Tricera-moms and ’cera-pops / Hang stockings for tricera-tots.” Bernstein’s digital illustrations differentiate the types of dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles through animated-looking details, while an appended spread provides brief information about each.

From the November/December 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

Elissa Gershowitz

Elissa Gershowitz is editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc. She holds an MA from the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons University and a BA from Oberlin College.

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