The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids Special: Mrs. Claus Doesn't Climb Telephone Poles

Mrs. Claus Doesn't Climb Telephone Poles by Debbie Dadey and Marci Thornton Jones is part of The Bailey School Kids series. It is not included in the numbering of the regular series, and since I have not read any of the other books in the series, I can't really say how it compares to the rest of the books in the series. The story does mention two characters from a previous book, so it may help to read that one first, but it wasn't vital in understanding what was going on in the book.

The book centers on the before Christmas adventures of four friends who are out of school for the rest of the year due to a terrible blizzard that caused their school to be shut down. The story is told in third person but is told from the point of view of Liza, one of the four friends.

It's a week before Christmas Eve, and the friends are trying to decide what to do with their new freedom. Liza notices a lady all dressed in red at the top of a telephone pole doing repairs. Right from the start, she thinks there's something different and special about her. Her friends just brush her off and decide to go sledding instead.

Throughout the book, the kids continue to cross paths with the lady, whose name is Joy. Liza hears her laugh, "Ho, ho, ho." They overhear her talking to a man named Eli, who they saw in that other story, about S.C. and how he doesn't appreciate anything that she does. Eli begs her to come back, and talks about how they're behind schedule.

Pretty soon, Liza is convinced that the lady is Mrs. Claus, but her friends are going to take some convincing, especially Eddie who only wants to race at everything, especially down the big hill that terrifies Liza.

The children get to know Joy better and find out that she and her husband aren't really on speaking terms. Liza is convinced that if they don't help her get back with her husband, that Christmas will be ruined.

This was a fun, quick read, geared toward young readers, with its obvious clues as to who this mysterious woman up the telephone pole might be. I think it would be fun to read to my kids when they get a little older and see if they pick up on all the clues.