Humbug Holiday: (A Christmas Carol)

Cracked Classics #4

by Tony Abbott

It’s the holiday season, and Devin and Frankie could use a lesson in selflessness—who better to teach them than Ebenezer Scrooge?

It’s Christmastime at Palmdale Middle School, and the sixth grade class has organized a holiday banquet for local families in need. Best friends Devin and Frankie are excited to eat, but they forgot to bring in food donations—and they didn’t read A Christmas Carol for English class. While the two fight over the library’s last copy of the book, the library’s magical security gates suddenly transport them straight into the classic novella, where they meet the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge! Mr. Scrooge is more than a little grouchy, but he’s in for a wake-up call when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.

The two friends follow as the ghosts show Scrooge the consequences of all the selfish choices he’s made in his life. But Scrooge isn’t the only one in for a lesson; Devin and Frankie have a few things to learn about kindness and generosity, as well!

Genres: Fiction, Christmas, Childrens

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Tony Abbott (born 1952) is an American author of children's books. His most popular work is the book series The Secrets of Droon, which includes over 40 books. He has sold over 12 million copies of his books and they have been translated into several other languages, including Italian, Spanish, Korean, French, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, and Russian. He has also written the bestseller Firegirl.

Abbott was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1952. His father was a university professor and had an extensive library of books which became one of Abbott's first sources of literature. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Connecticut where he went through elementary school and high school.

Abbott attended the University of Connecticut, and after studying both music and psychology, decided to study English and graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor's degree in English literature. He attended the workshops of Patricia Reilly Giff to further develop his writing after college.

Abbott currently lives in Trumbull, Connecticut, with his wife, two daughters, and two dogs. Tony had one brother and two sisters.

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what this was until I started reading, but it would be a fun companion read to A Christmas Carol for younger readers. Two friends get sucked into the book and walk through the story along with Scrooge. I'd be interested to read a few of the others in this series. I'm a fan of books that introduce the classics to young readers.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s Christmas in Humbug Holiday, the fourth Cracked Classics book, and this time Frankie and Devin find themselves inside of A Christmas Carol. They learn a lesson right along with Scrooge as they work their way through the book and also discover that going back in a book to reread it doesn’t cause the meltdown they are used to when they skip ahead. Like the other books in the series, this one is super fun and sparks an interest in reading the classic book. Both my boys (11 and 12 years old) loved it. I highly recommend Humbug Holiday and all the books in the Cracked Classics series to people of all ages. It makes a great read-aloud!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fun intro to a classic. It's less serious than the original and gives the reader an idea of what to expect in the original. A Christmas Carol is not a weighty tome, topping out at about 125 pages, but this book is shorter still at about 85 pages. It's geared toward the tween or early teen mindset, and it would be easy to finish in a day or two.

[Ann Han · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it when Scrooge said 'Bah,humbug!'.It was really funny!

[Alishia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun way to read classics.

[Debesuota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serinin şu ana kadar ki en sıkıcı kitabıydı. Biraz da klişeleşti belki benim için. Noel Şarkısı güzel bir hikayeymiş. Uyarlaması da güzel olmuş. Hoştu.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

A Christmas Carol is one of my favourite Christmas stories so I was stocked and this was definitely really good! I loved this.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun way to read a classic for kids.