North For the Winter by Bobby Podesta

ARC, 352 pages
Release Date: September 2, 2025
Published by: First Second
Read from: December 5-12, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: Physical from the Publisher
Content Warning: Grief, Death of a Parent
For Readers Interested In: MG, Graphic Novels, Holidaze, Action, Adventure, Historical fiction,  Fantasy

      From Pixar star animator Bobby Podesta comes a middle-grade classic holiday story about Virginia, a girl who must help one of Santa’s reindeer back to the North Pole before Christmas.
     What would you think if you saw a reindeer fly? When this happens to Virginia, she isn’t sure what to do – she’s just lost her mom, she’s in a new city, and everything seems so hard. But when she reluctantly confesses what she saw to her neighbor, Benny, he’s convinced that flying reindeer can only mean one thing: this is Santa business.
     In this stunning graphic novel debut from Pixar director Bobby Podesta, two kids and a lost reindeer go up against obsessive hunters, suspiciously convincing department store elves, and radar operators for the Continental Air Defense Command Center. No matter the odds, Virginia’s going to get Christmas back on track!

*MY THOUGHTS*

This was so much fun! I LOVE tracking Santa on NORAD with my little, so imagine my surprise when this showed up on my doorstep. I had no idea what it was about, just that there was a reindeer on the cover, so I waited until December to read. And let me just say, that was the right choice. This was whimsical and fun and I loved it.

Ok so the best part about this was the plot. It was a bit confusing as it jumps between the main character Virginia and the soldiers tracking the skies, but it does straighten out. And when it does, everything straightens out. But I will say, it IS graphic novel, so the panels don’t cover as much as a book in prose does, so that could be why its a tiny bit confusing. But again, that didn’t bother me.

The characters were really fun too. I knew something was up with the people who worked in the toy store. And I’m ashamed to say it took me a ridiculous amount of time to realize what they might actually come across when tracking the skies on Christmas Eve lol I was too into the story and really just enjoying the moment. But it made it all the more better when they popped up in the story.

I’m usually not a fan of historical fiction, but when you make it a chaotic book where two kids are trying to save Christmas, a lost flying reindeer, and the origin of NORAD tracking Santa, you best believe I’m going to read it. AND it was a graphic novel so that made it even easier to digest. The panels and illustrations were great and they perfectly complimented the other. Definitely everything I like in graphic novels

This story was really special. I hope y’all pick this up. At the very least, just to get to know the characters. This is definitely a book I’m going to be recommending during the holiday season for a long time.

Overall, I give this