ALA Booklist (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Dasher, a reindeer, doesn't want to live her life as part of J. P. Finnegan's Traveling Circus and Menagerie. She's only happy when children come to view the circus reindeer and feed them carrots. Dasher dreams of the land her mother once lovingly described: "It was a magical place," she would say. "The air was crisp and cold, and the ground was always covered with a cool blanket of white snow." When the opportunity for freedom presents itself, Dasher reluctantly leaves her family behind and runs away. Traveling north to her parents' homeland, she encounters a bearded man with a sleigh filled with gifts. His horse is having trouble pulling the heavy vehicle, so Dasher offers to help. Richly colored illustrations in watercolor, gouache, pencil, and pastel delineate the history of how Dasher volunteered to pull Santa's sleigh and help him bring joy to children on Christmas. Readers will enjoy this lush new holiday tale that focuses on Santa's original reindeer.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this prequel to the Rudolph story, Tavares explains how Santa ended up with his original reindeer crew. Young Dasher and her reindeer family languish in a circus, displayed as zoo animals under the hot sun by day and pulling the menagerie-s wagons at night. -The air was crisp and cold,- says Mama, recalling her birthplace under the North Star, -and the ground was always covered with a cool blanket of white snow.- Seizing an opportunity to escape, Dasher follows the North Star, and finds Santa and Silverbell-an affable, plodding horse who struggles to pull the heavy load: -I-m sorry, Santa. The sleigh is just so heavy this year.- Happily for all, a bit of magic assists gift delivery, and Santa-s gratitude leads to granted wishes and a reindeer reunion. Tavares-s classically painted figures are lit by moonlight and falling snow in this cozy antidote to holiday hullabaloo. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

K-Gr 2 -A magical origin story of Dasher, the first of Santa's flying reindeer. Dasher, the youngest reindeer in J.P. Finnegan's Traveling Circus and Menagerie, dreams and wishes for freedom, to be at the North Pole where the ground is covered in a cool blanket of snow. One night a storm helps Dasher escape and, while wandering in the woods, she meets Santa with his sleigh and horse, Silverbell. Dasher helps the pair deliver Christmas presents and, when the night is over, she finds that her wish has come true, she has made it home to the North Pole. The story opens with a detailed and expansive layout of the circus and menagerie, hot and dusty and crowded, clearly not a comfortable home for a reindeer family. Light is used to excellent effect in all of the illustrations. The twinkling North Star guides Dasher through the forest when she first escapes and on a later page radiant beams of moonlight illuminate Santa and Dasher when they meet for the first time. The text is formal and reserved and has the feel of a folktale or myth. On several pages the text is set in black typeface on top of color illustrations, which makes it difficult to read and is incongruous to the rest of the story, where text is set in large white boxes with decorative elements. The illustrations mirror the stately and calming text and are rarely dynamic, with one notable exception occurring when the escaping form of Dasher breaks through the white border and runs off the page entirely. VERDICT The overall message is one of family and togetherness, made possible by the magical powers of Santa Claus.-Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library, RI