Reindeer Countdown: Eight Jolly Reindeer by Ilanit Oliver and Jacqueline Rogers

SIX JOLLY REINDEER, STRETCHING UP TO HEAVEN.

UP GOES DONDER, AND THEN THERE WERE...

What number comes before eight? Which reindeer does Santa urge on next?

These reindeer do more than mount to the rooftop, click, click, click! As they wait to be called to their place in harness, they limber up, stretching, kicking a soccer ball around, doing some jumping jacks, and running in place.

The countdown continues from eight down to one, from Dasher right through Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen.

With tabs for each reindeer and sturdy board book composition, this one is just right for small fingers and young minds, with the added bonus of rhyming text and the practice of guessing the next number in the countdown with each page turn. There's a bit of Christmas learning as well as fun in Ilanit Oliver's Eight Jolly Reindeer (Scholastic/Cartwheel Books, 2014). Jacqueline Roger's illustrations offer everything but, alas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in this jolly holiday book, perfect for preschool stocking stuffing.