Grumpy Grinch! Santa Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Bruce was a bear who didn't like the holidays.

He used to stay in bed all winter and skip right through the whole business.

But that was back in the good old days before Bruce involuntarily became Mother Bruce Goose, foster parent to three goslings with other ideas about ways to while away the winter.

The goslings and their critter friends demand a cozy holiday family togetherness that is just what Bruce doesn't want for the winter. His goslings had already gotten busy decking the halls, while the mice stirred up some tasty eggnog. What fun! What cheer! What a beautiful Christmas tree!

Bruce didn't like fun. Bruce didn't like cheer.

And he didn't like cold weather. Bruce pulled out his long red flannel underwear and sleeping cap.

Big mistake!

"Are you SANTA CLAUS?" asked a big-eyed little 'coon kid.

And before he knows it, the goslings had lined up the moppets and Bruce was taking little bunnies and raccoons on his knees, listening to their silly Christmas wish lists. To get rid of them, he promised them whatever toys they asked for.

But at last the talkative tots left and Bruce was just headed for his cozy bed when ...

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! All the parents wanted to thank Bruce for his Christmas spirit. They left, shouting with glee.

Bruce didn't like glee.

But what about the poor little disappointed children?

The goslings and the mice insisted that Bruce cannot disappoint all the children. Will Santa Claus Bruce make his midnight ride?

BAH! HUMBUG! was the word, as the goslings got in harness, flapping wildly, and the wagon on skids lifted off with Santa Bruce reluctantly aboard, in Ryan T. Higgins' latest in his Mother Bruce series, Santa Bruce (Mother Bruce Series) (Disney Hyperion Books, 2018). There's a plentitude of slapstick sight gags, as Santa Bruce get stuck in chimneys and chars the seat of his red underwear pants on the way down, and plenty of dry humor as the goslings ensure that nobody has a niggardly Noel despite their curmudgeonly Father Christmas, Santa Bruce.

Other books in this not-to-be-missed, top-selling series are Mother Bruce, Hotel Bruce (Mother Bruce), and Bruce's Big Move (Mother Bruce) (see reviews here).