What a great book! I read this over and over to my granddaughter, and she can't get enough of it. The illustrations were cute as could be, and the rhythm of the story, the cadence, is really quite lyrical when you get into it. She liked that she could follow along with the pictures, which were colorful and fun.

Slappy believes that all children deserve presents, even pirate girls and ninja boys, and he decides it's up to him to do something about it, since his cousin, Santa Clause, has rules, and thus, Pirate Santa is born! He and his crew set out to find toys for these kids, and he gets some assistance from a helpful mermaid named Grace. And who needs reindeer when you have tiger sharks? But of course, Santa had a plan all along which that involved Cap'n Slappy and his crew. In Cap'n's own words, "You don't have to be perfect, just try to be kind, Ninja Boy, Pirate Girl, you just keep that in mind,." What a great message!

In summary, my granddaughter loved this book very much, and I enjoyed reading it to her over and over again.

5/5 stars