Missile Toe

A Very Confused Christmas

Christmas can be a very confusing holiday. Just what are sugarplums anyway?! This collection of silly poems show classic Christmas carols and traditions reimagined through the eyes of a very confused kid. With illustrations from the hysterical Marty Kelley, this is a perfect pick for a holiday full of belly laughs.

Format List Price Your Price Qty
$16.99 $16.99
$28.99 $28.99
Interest Level Kindergarten - Grade 3
Reading Level Grade 1
Dewey 811/.6
Lexile AD580L
ATOS Reading Level
Guided Reading Level Q
Language English
Publisher Sleeping Bear Press
Available Formats Hardcover (9781585363711), PDF (9781534103146), Hosted ebook (9781534103290)
Copyright 2017
Number of Pages 32
Dimensions 9 x 11
Graphics Full-color illustrations

Publishers Weekly - Missile Toe: A Very Confused Christmas

Puns and misheard Christmas carol lyrics abound in this goofy collection of a dozen holiday-themed poems from news anchor and children’s book author Scillian. Writing mostly in rhymed couplets, he contemplates the mysteries of what decking the halls means and what sugarplums are before moving on to poems with titles like “Beth the Ham” (about a spotlight-hogging sheep in a school play), “Wild Shepherds Washed Their Flocks by Night,” and “Round John Verjun,” about a mystery guest at the stable in Bethlehem (“Joseph leans in. ‘How do you do?/ I hate to be rude, but who are you?’ ”). The rhymes tend to be corny, but there are some winners in the bunch (“Angels we half heard on high, mumbling something in the sky”), and Kelley’s energetic pencil-and-watercolor images tap into the atmosphere of silliness.

Author: Devin Scillian

Devin Scillian is an award-winning author, broadcast journalist, and musician. He presently anchors the news for WDIV-TV in Detroit. He has traveled the world covering news stories from Sydney to Siberia. His school presentations have inspired countless children to think of themselves as not only readers, but writers as well.
In addition to Memoirs of a Goldfish, Memoirs of a Hamster, Memoirs of an Elf, and Memoirs of a Parrot, Devin is also the author of numerous books for Sleeping Bear Press including the national bestseller A is for America: An American Alphabet. Devin lives in Michigan with his family. Find out more about Devin at www.devinscillian.com.

Illustrator: Marty Kelley

Marty Kelley is an author and illustrator of children’s books but has, in the past, been a second grade teacher, a baker, a cartoonist, a newspaper art director, and (among other things) a drummer in a heavy metal band. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and children.

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Full-color illustrations