SuitabookThe 12 sleighs of Christmas
Sherri Duskey Rinker
- Reading
- Read it aloud when you can pause to inspect the detailed inventions. Expect some rhyme passages to flow unevenly; explain unfamiliar vehicle terms briefly, then invite the child to draw or build a new sleigh and describe its features.
- Themes
- Teamwork and individual initiative: Twelve teams compete to build sleighs, while one elf works alone on a separate solution. The book explicitly includes both collaborative and independent work, and is described as carrying a strong teamwork message. The evaluative balance between them is not clear.
- Competition and creative problem-solving: The elves enter a contest to replace a damaged sleigh, producing designs based on varied forms of transport. Competition supplies the story’s structure, while creativity and problem-solving are prominent. It is not clear whether winning, inventiveness or usefulness is ultimately prioritised.
- Technical language and visual detail: The book uses vehicle and construction vocabulary alongside detailed illustrations and rhyming text. It introduces terms such as chassis, suspension, pulleys and levers through an imaginative story rather than presenting a systematic technical lesson.
- Worth knowing
- The competition is presented alongside teamwork, creativity and hard work.