If you think Santa Claus came into the world sporting a red suit and a white beard, think again. Santa wasn't always the jolly, overweight, gift-giving fellow that we now know and love. He tried his hand at all sorts of different jobs, including postal worker, zookeeper, circus performer, and even chimney sweep, but each of these presented a problem that got in his way. It wasn't until he was lucky enough to meet a friendly bunch of elves that Santa found his true calling...and the job of his dreams.
Stephen Krensky's understated text and S. D. Schindler's charming illustrations come together to create an imaginative and funny tale that proves even the best of us have to try, try again.

 

This book was recognised in the Picture Book category by the North Carolina Children's Book Award.

This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 1998 by Simon & Schuster .

Stephen Krensky has published over 100 fiction and nonfiction books for children. S. D. Schindler is the popular and versatile illustrator of many books for children, including Big Pumpkin and the ALA Notable Book Don't Fidget a Feather, both by Erica Silverman, How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky, and Johnny Appleseed by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.