Santa’s Book Of Names was written and illustrated by David McPhail and published in 1993 by Little, Brown and Company. With Christmas fast approaching, I wanted to post a review about a Christmas picture book. My local library has many to choose from, which made it hard to decide, so I picked one at random. The further I read into Santa’s Book Of Names, the more I enjoyed it. A young boy named Edward helps Santa deliver gifts on Christmas Eve after he finds his book of names. What’s great about this book is its emphasis on literacy. Anyone who knows me knows how strongly I feel about the importance of literacy. (See my About Me page in the sidebar.) Edward struggles to read, but by helping Santa with the list in the book, he soon learns because he knows Santa is counting on him. The illustrations have an old-fashioned Christmas look, giving the whole book a warm and cozy feel. I especially like the pointy-nosed Santa. Who says Santa’s nose has to be round? I know that David McPhail has written and illustrated several other picture books and I plan to check them out. I encourage you to do the same.