Where are Santa's pants? by Richard Merritt

Little Hare, 2010. ISBN 9781921541506.
(All ages) There is a mountain of fun to be had in this search for Santa's pants. Merritt has drawn intricate and detailed pictures of the North Pole, the beach, the village, a department store, a nativity play, post office, city, farm, ice rink and home, all places where Santa has lost his pants, each in a different pattern for each picture. The crowds are out for Christmas and it is not an easy task to find Santa's pants as well as eight reindeer and a lucky sixpence in each of the elaborate double spreads.
The virtues of patience and persistence are called for in the search for Santa's pants. I must admit I was fortunate if I found a reindeer or two in the highly amusing and complex pictures and was happy to discover that there were answers at the end!
Those children who adore looking out for Wally in the books by Martin Handford, will delight in another book where they can put their observation skills to the test.
Pat Pledger