Secret Santa

The Robin Hill School first-graders celebrate the spirit of Christmas in this holiday-themed Level 1 Ready-to-Read story. It is Secret Santa Day at school, and Katie is wearing her special Christmas sweater. But Andrew makes fun of her outfit, calling the reindeer on the sweater a raccoon. When it comes time to pick names from the Santa hat, Katie hopes she doesn't pick Andrew's name. But she does! How can Katie give Andrew a gift when he's been so mean to her?

Margaret McNamara, the pseudonym of literary agent Brenda Bowen, is the Christopher Award–winning author of the long-running Robin Hill School series, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024. She is also the author of the Mr. Tiffin’s Classroom series (all illustrated by G. Brian Karas), including How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?, which was awarded the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Gold Award, and The Dinosaur Expert, which received three starred reviews. Among her many other picture books is Vote for Our Future, illustrated by Micah Player, which Kirkus Reviews called “essential” in a starred review. Margaret McNamara lives in New York City and spends as much of the summer as she can in Maine. 

Mike Gordon illustrates the Robin Hill School series and has an extensive and varied background in illustration and design. He lives with his family in Santa Barbara, California.