Jim Hedgehog's Supernatural Christmas

Jim Hedgehog

by Russell Hoban, Betsy Lewin (Illustrator)

When the monster from his favorite holiday monster film climbs right out of the television, Jim Hedgehog must use his wits to handle the creature.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

45 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1992

About the author

Russell Conwell Hoban was an American expatriate writer. His works span many genres, including fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magical realism, poetry, and children's books. He lived in London, England, from 1969 until his death. (Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you search goodreads for "supernatural Christmas" this is the first result and the second is Lewis' "The Monk" which by weird coincidence I checked out from the library at the same time! Now I am excited to find out how The Monk is about a supernatural Christmas, because that is not suggested in the plot summary or my friends' reviews.

Jim Hedgehog's Supernatural Christmas is actually not a Christmas book, really. It is set at Christmas, but there is no particular reason for this in terms of plot or seasonality. It is about a little boy who loves to snack and watch tv and gains weight. On Christmas after dinner he is watching his favorite horror movie, "The Revolting Blob," (the fat-shaming here is subtle, no?) and the Blob drags him into the tv set and takes his place on couch. His parents don't notice. In order to return home, Jim must become thin.

This was a particularly disappointing read directly after having an excellent, very Christmas-spirited holiday book by the same author. I recommend skipping this and seeing if you can track down Hoban's "The Mole Family's Christmas" instead.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is such an odd, odd little book! I love Hoban's work with the Frances books but I suppose he is not so strong with hedgehogs. I really have no idea how many stars to give this book--two, maybe?--it's not dreadful but it is NOT really a Christmas book except that it takes place over Christmas. It is more a cautionary tale about over-eating. Little Jim just loves to eat and eat and eat and watch TV but one Christmas when his favorite movie about THE BLOB comes on, something crazy happens and he and the Blob switch places. His Mom and Dad, sadly, don't really notice the difference between their chubby son and The Blob--and meanwhile Jim-in-the-TV must figure out a way to escape and the only way to do that is by NOT eating anything else and going to battle with the foods he used to love. Of course, he triumphs. But, erm, somehow, I'm not picturing them making up any Christmas songs about THIS story, haha!

Oh, and just a hilarious aside, the copy of this that I checked out from the library has FOOD STAINS on the corner. Talk about ironic!

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way this book was written would never go over these days, but it's also unlikely many kids will be reading this older, more obscure picture book in 2022. Jim the hedgehog is a world-class couch potato, who watches TV and gorges himself on snacks until one day, he is sucked inside the TV to live out the role of the Revolting Blob creature on the Christmas Eve monster movie.

After fighting off hordes of junk food in a strange dreamlike sequence, Jim takes to heart the message about choosing a more healthy lifestyle, and decides to spend less time snacking and watching TV and more time exercising.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some young readers who are going to think this is a re-readable hoot. It is clever, but at the same time it's pretty earnest. I gotta wonder though why Jim's parents don't have more control over the boy - he's clearly not even a teen yet and so should not be making his own late night snacks, much less watching tv late at night.

It is funny though and I'm glad that I read it.
Good book if you need a Christmas story for a challenge but don't like all the sweet & heartwarming ones.

[Martin Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book many times as a kid. I am not quite sure that that is a good thing and it might have had a a bad influence on me. However, I must have enjoyed if I kept re-reading.

The book sends a harmful message of hatred for fat people. Impressionable children should avoid reading it or at least, parents should tell them that the message is wrong.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is strange and hilarious and tickles my funny bone in just the right place. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for common reading today; its message is a little dated.

[Christina Baranczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well written book with interesting illustration.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this second (and final) installment of the Jim Hedgehog series, our hero learns a surreal lesson about overeating and exercise.

The first one, JIM HEDGEHOG AND THE LONESOME TOWER, is a lost classic, one that deserves to be rediscovered and cherished. SUPERNATURAL CHRISTMAS isn't nearly that good, but it's still kind of fun. I love Betsy Lewin's hedgehog illustrations, and the sheer weirdness of the text is entertaining.

Russell Hoban, alas, died in 2011, and so the all-too-brief series ends here. I'm disappointed that I'll never get to read more about Jim Hedgehog, but I'm glad for the pair of books about him that we do have.

[Sebastian Pelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book I have read in my childhood. Never read, it might traumatise you. It's messed up and weird