Santa Claus is Comin' to Town    by J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie & Steven Kellogg Order:  USA  Can HarperTrophy, 2006 (2004) Hardcover, Softcover Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Hilary Williamson You will hear the beloved song - written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie - playing between your ears as you turn the bright and busy pages of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. Steven Kellogg's illustrations add a frenetic energy - with magic in the details - to the song that defines a child's Christmas. Open the front cover and see Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves preparing to pack the sleigh at the North Pole (I love the ping pong ball machine that takes in Ping and Pong powder and ejects balls). A friendly bear hands out the better watch out warnings to children, tells them about Santa's Survey (the infamous list), and encourages them to get their letters in the mail. We see Santa spying on kids' behavior through a telescope up North. A wonderful foldout towards the end shows Arctic Airlines elves loading up the sleigh and feeding Christmas cookies to the reindeer, while Santa affectionately strokes Prancer. The picture book ends with a joyous, double page Christmas morning display (check out the quirky tree ornaments). It will soon be time to start singing the song again - better still, get yourself a copy of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and pore over Steven Kellogg's delightfully detailed and engaging illustrations while you hum along to the music. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews