Pink Santa by Tanya Hennessy

Title: Pink Santa

Author: Tanya Hennessy

Genre: Christmas

Publisher: Albert Street Books

Published: 29^th August 2023

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 24

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: A jolly and inclusive celebration of the Christmas season, from bestselling children’s author Tanya Hennessy!

‘Tis the night before Christmas and all is calm in Santa’s workshop. The presents are wrapped and the sleigh is polished. All that’s left to do is wash Santa’s iconic red-and-white suit …What could possibly go wrong?

Sparkling with all the magic of the season, this warm-hearted tale is a celebration of embracing change and being yourself.

Christmas is gonna be FABULOUS!

~*~

It’s that time of year again – when the Christmas books start coming out several months before December – to ensure they’re available for the big month. The past few years, I have noticed that there have been a range of different Christmas stories coming out. Some are very Australian whilst others use the tropes and characters we love from Christmas and create something new. That is what Tanya Hennessy has done. She has taken the traditional ‘Night Before Christmas’ poem and made it modern and inclusive, and with a twist. This year, Santa will be delivering presents in pink!

Yes, I know, Santa’s suit is meant to be red and white, but when Rudolph puts his suit through the wash, it turns pink like the prison outfits in Paddington 2! Santa and his elves get into gear and make Christmas pink – in the hopes that it will reinvigorate him and bring Christmas back to life for him – so can changing a colour make the holiday exciting again?

And yes it does – it becomes exciting, fabulous, and unique, and I think shows that the traditional colours have nothing to do with making Christmas what it is. I think this book is fun and vibrant and shows that a day like Christmas can be whatever we want it to be. The rhyming text starts out sedately and then gets faster but can be read in a similar timbre and rhythm to The Night Before Christmas. This modern take on the older poem gives new life to the poem and the holiday, which I enjoyed, and think will be fun for readers of all ages.  

Whether getting ready for Christmas or settling down on Christmas Eve, this diverse and inclusive book, showing elves of all types, and a Pink Santa, amongst other things, will be a fun book to read this year and in the years to come. And who knows? Maybe every Christmas can be a different colour from now on.