Happy santa day, p.2
Happy Santa Day!,
p.2
“Another great idea, Andy!” Jay said. “Here we go!”
8 Smooshed!
At 8:59 a.m., everyone from Elf Academy, as well as Reindeer Ranch, stood outside Door A of the Sugarplum building, waiting to go in.
Also at 8:59 a.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus stood outside Door B of the Sugarplum, waiting to go in. Santa was carrying trays of North Pole cookies piled high. Mrs. Claus held a gigantic bunch of balloons.
And at 9 a.m. on the dot, Doors A and B opened at the exact same time. Everyone burst in, and…
“SURPRISE!
SURPRISE!
SURPRISE!”
yelled Andy, who was stuck at the very top of the gumdrop-covered peppermint sprinkle swirl cake.
“SURPRISE!
SURPRISE!
SURPRISE!”
yelled Jay, who was barely hanging on to the balloons close to the ceiling.
Santa, Mrs. Claus, Ms. Dow, Principal Evergreen, and the rest of Elf Academy couldn’t believe their eyes.
“Andy!” shouted Craig. “What are you doing?”
“Jay, how did you ever get up there?” screamed Kal.
“Andy Snowden! Jay Fir! Come down from there immediately,” yelled Ms. Dow.
“Everything is ruined!” cried Nicole. “Everything!”
Mrs. Claus saw how upset everyone was. “Nicole,” she asked, “what do you mean by ‘everything is ruined’?”
“Santa, Mrs. Claus, we were throwing you a surprise party to thank you for all that you do for everyone,” explained Andy. “But Santa, what are you doing with those cookies? And balloons?”
Santa looked at Mrs. Claus.
Mrs. Claus looked at Santa.
“Let’s rescue Andy and Jay first and then we’ll explain,” Mrs. Claus told the crowd. “Molly and Wally, would you please fly up and get the boys?”
Molly flew up to the cake and steadied herself while Andy climbed out, covered in icing, crumbs, and a few orange gumdrops. It was easier for Jay to just jump onto Wally’s back.
When the elves were back on the ground and Andy had toweled off, Santa started talking.
“Mrs. Claus and I thank you for such a thoughtful surprise. We are a wonderful North Pole family, aren’t we?” he said.
Everyone nodded.
“Mrs. Claus and I had the same plans as you: we wanted to thank you for all the hard and kind work you do for children all over the world.”
“Two parties at the same time?” Roger asked. “This is fantastic!”
“Except—look at the cake,” said Susu. “How are we supposed to eat that mess?”
The peppermint sprinkle swirl gumdrop cake did look sort of smooshed and smashed and soggy.
“Well,” Andy began, “I knew it just needed something extra elf special to thank Santa. And I was sure gumdrops would do the trick.”
“They did the trick all right, Andy, and not the treat,” said Mrs. Claus, and she began laughing so hard she couldn’t stop. And once she started laughing, the whole room joined her. Even the reindeer.
“You are right, Andy. Gumdrops are one of my favorites,” Santa told him. “Thanks to you and Jay for making the extra-special effort.”
Santa winked at Andy and continued, “I don’t know about any of you, but I think cake tastes delicious no matter how smooshed it may be.”
“And I say it’s time to get our two no-longer-surprise parties started,” Principal Evergreen added.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Santa boomed. “Let’s have a jolly good time!”
And a jolly good time was had by all.
Word List
assign (ah•SIHN): To give a specific task or job to
attendance (ah•TEN•dehnce): Number of people in a place
batch (BATCH): A group of things or people
chefs (SHEFS): Professional cooks
decorate (DECK•or•eight): Make more beautiful by design
exact (eggs•ACT): Completely correct
gobble (GAH•bull): Eat and swallow food quickly
hardworking: (HARD WER•khing: Putting a lot of effort into a job
helium (HEE•lee•um): Colorless gas that is lighter than air, used to fill balloons
hint (HINT): Suggest something
ingredients (in•GREE•dee•entz): Some of the things used to make food
magical (MAH•jih•kul): Very exciting, filled with wonder
precisely (pree•SEIS•lee): Exactly
recall (ree•CALL): Remember something
signaled (SIG•nuhld): Movement or action that gave information
signatures (SIG•nah•chures): People’s written names
sleigh (SLAY): Large open vehicle usually pulled by a strong animal
slumped (SLUMPT): Sank down heavily
soundly (SOUND•lee): In a deep state
steadied (STED•eed): Held firmly
storage (STORE•ahge): Space where you put things that are not in use
streamers (STREEM•ehrs): Long and narrow pieces of paper used as decoration
swiftly (SWIFT•lee): Move quickly
task (TASK): Small job
toweled (TOW•uhld): Dried off with a towel
Questions
1. Why were Santa and the reindeer so tired on December 26?
2. What is the best surprise you have ever received?
3. What’s the best surprise you’ve ever given someone?
4. Think of three fun ways you can say thank you to someone.
More from this Series
Goes For Gold
Flamenco to Mischief
The Giants' Farm
Buttons's Talent Show
Rainbow Surprise
Rickshaw to Horror
About the Author and Illustrator
Alan Katz has been a print and television comedy writer for more than twenty years. In addition to being a multiple Emmy nominee for his work on The Rosie O’Donnell Show and Disney’s Raw Toonage, he has written for children’s programming on Nickelodeon, ABC, and Warner Bros. Animation’s Taz-Mania. Alan lives in Weston, Connecticut, with his journalist wife, Rose, and their children, Simone, Andrew, Nathan, and David. Visit him online at AlanKatzBooks.com.
Sernur Işik is an illustrator and designer based in Istanbul. She specializes in children’s books and all things lovely. She’s worked for TV, theme parks, and publishing as a visual arts director and character designer. She also designs little clay and ceramic sculptures with her characters, exhibiting mostly in the US. She is currently traveling around the world, creating new stories and characters about the places she’s visited.
Aladdin Quix
Simon & Schuster, New York
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Alan-Katz
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Sernur-Işik
Read the other books in the Elf Academy series!
Trouble in Toyland
Reindeer Games
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Aladdin QUIX hardcover edition September 2022
Text copyright © 2022 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Illustrations copyright © 2022 by Sernur Işik
Also available in an Aladdin QUIX paperback edition.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ALADDIN and the related marks and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by Tiara Iandiorio
Jacket designed by Tiara Iandiorio
Jacket illustration copyright © 2022 by Sernur Işik
The illustrations for this book were rendered digitally.
Library of Congress Control Number 2022936582
ISBN 978-1-5344-6795-8 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-5344-6794-1 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-5344-6796-5 (ebook)
Alan Katz, Happy Santa Day!
