Santa Paws

Santa Paws #1

by Nicholas Edwards

Performing daring rescues and other brave acts, a homeless puppy earns the name Santa Paws and is adopted by a loving family. Original.

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Christmas, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Holiday

151 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Nicholas Edwards is a pseudonym for Ellen Emerson White.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheesy, I know, but I'm tearing up. Great Christmas spirit book to kick off my Advent season read! 5, furry, tail wagging, stars!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stand by my first review. It's one set of kids' books I can't see myself getting rid of anytime soon; they're just good for the soul.

First review
I love these books. They may not be on my reading level and I may only think they're good because of nostalgia and dog love, but I love them regardless. Santa Paws, er, Nick, is adorable - a modern day Lassie, as the book jokes, and probably the best example of a truly altruistic character you'll ever find in a book, saving kittens and humans alike with no concern for his own safety. I may sound crazy going on like this, but he's the epitome of man's best friend and our ideals about dogs, just wanting to help in any way they can, and, of course, the Christmas spirit - no matter your denomination.

[Julianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed for THC Reviews
In Santa Paws, Nicholas Edwards (which is actually a pseudonym for Ellen Emerson White) has created an absolutely charming tale of a small homeless puppy who goes around town, saving lives, helping people in need, and spreading Christmas cheer during the holiday season. I loved how the puppy is still able to give love and help the townspeople to feel better, even though he is so very lonely himself after getting lost from his canine family. I found this to be a great object lesson for humans in that if we can rise above our own hurts and find the love in our hearts to help others, it might just make us feel better too, not to mention it was a great example of the real meaning of Christmas.

I would say that at least half of the book is written from the dog's point of view, which I thought was very unique and clever. In my opinion, Ms. White did an excellent job of describing how a dog might think and feel. Rather than simply anthropomorphizing the dog as many authors would, she managed to create some realistic actions and thought processes, with him relying on instincts a lot. Sometimes he would have a one track mind about something and others he would entirely forget what his original objective was when something fun and distracting came along. Overall, I was just really impressed with how the author managed to get into the mind of a dog, and make me, on some level, feel what a dog might feel. As I read Santa Paws, I was reminded a great deal of the old Lassie movies and TV shows of which I was a huge fan when I was a kid. Of course, in my experience, dogs who are that smart are few and far between, but they certainly do exist.

Santa Paws was just a very sweet and enjoyable tale that is sure to warm the heart during the holiday season or any time of the year. I highly recommend it for all animal lovers, and for family reading time. Even though the book is geared towards kids, my adult mind was engaged as well. It is the first book in the Santa Paws series. Nicholas Edwards created the series and authored the first six books, but there are others that were written later by Kris Edwards, who is no relation. I'm not sure of the entire story behind the change in authors, but it is my understanding that Ellen Emerson White did not approve of or officially sanction these later Santa Paws books. In any case, I loved this one so much, I am greatly looking forward to reading the other book in the series, at least those authored by Ms. White as Nicholas Edwards.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

2018
This little story is an adorable combination of every good dog story ever. This little hero dog, Santa Paws, runs around Oceanport saving everyone. He saves little old ladies who fall, little drowning children, helps a blind girl, saves a family from a fire, just to name a few! He is an all around definition of a "good boy."

It's super cheesy but sweet. And it will really warm your heart for the holiday season. It might be geared more for children, which is what I was when I originally read the series, but it will make your little adult heart swell as well. Whenever I read the series I always wish I had a big sweet dog like Santa Paws curled up next to me. You know, before he goes off on an adventure rescuing someone.

[Star Shining Forever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our introduction to Santa Paws, the furry hero of Oceanport! A stray dog makes it his business to save people in trouble, runs into the hearts of the townspeople, and is adopted by pretty much the whole town.

I like how the author writes from both the dog's point of view and the people's, switching between the two seamlessly. It really helps you connect with the dog, but also understand what's going on in the story, things that the dog doesn't realize. The characters are vivid and perfect. The snapshots into the lives of the townsfolk are very well done. And the Christmas setting of most of the Santa Paws stories sets a cozy mood whenever you read them :-)

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10

This is the 2nd time I've read this book and I'd still consider it a good book. I didn't realize how sad a book this was though. All I could remember was that there was a happy ending (which was also obvious since I have the 2nd book in the series).

It's a good read, but I think it would be hard for some to read, dog lovers specifically. The dog is a stray... what isn't sad about that? The good news is that he finds a very nice boy and his family takes him in. I was sad that he got so badly injured first though.

Well written story though.

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one enjoyable quick read. Its for children but apparently quite a few adults enjoy it. Myself I chose it as its a Christmas story and has a dog as the main character. What more could you want.

[Sarah-Jayne Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

(This review may contain spoilers).

I remember reading this book maybe a year or two after it was first published and I was telling a couple of friends about it recently. Because they liked the sound of it, we ordered it on Amazon to read together.

The book was just as good as I remembered. I could recall vague details about it, but there were a lot of things I forgot about, too. The book contains some tense moments, even though it's for children, and it was interesting to see the world through the dog's eyes.

If there was something I had to pick at, it would be at the fact that, despite the fact most of the book is written from the dog's point of view, things are named that the dog wouldn't know the names of. It made sense, since otherwise the book wouldn't have worked as well, but that knowledge kind of contradicted with what had already been stated.

Despite that, it was a really good book and fairly enjoyable to read again. It'll be interesting to read the next one and see what that's like.

[Ms. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really amazing. It was almost christmas and there was a puppy who lived with his mother and brothers/sisters. One morning, when he woke up, his family wasn't there. He tries to find them, but he couldn't. Then, he had to take care of himself. Pretty soon, he did a whole lot of good deeds for the city of Oceanport. From finding a blind girl's wallet to saving a family from a housefire during night time, he earned the name: Santa Paws. He was really famous around town, too. He even saved a boy from drowning and he rescued a poor little old woman from death. At last, everyone wants to be his owner. Santa Paws was a true hero. But at last, who will be the hero's owner?

[Zach Volz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book a lot. When I first started reading this book I couldn’t stop. This book is about a dog that rescues people and does many other brave things in this story. The dog is entitled with the name “Santa Paws”, Santa Paws is with his family for christmas and helps rescue a small boy that goes missing just before Christmas. I would recommend this book to animal lovers and people who like to read about animals saving lives.

[[ J o ] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sorry, how can you resist the dog on the cover? Also, puntastic. A re-discovered childhood favourite.

[Leeann Zea · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is so good especially for animal lovers and it really brings the Christmas spirit!

[Sarah Schloff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fun, fast, and sad all at the same time.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

childhood nostalgia

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading "Just a Dog" this was quite a contrast. OK the dog lacked the reality of the other book, and thought too much like a person would. And was way too smart in some ways, which was disconcerting for when he started acting like a real dog again. But I loved this book anyway.

I liked how the dog didn't understand that it was doing good.
I liked reading all the different ways that the dog did good within the town.
I liked that this book was exactly what it was meant to be - light and happy feel-good fun, because I really needed that after the week that I'd just had.

Was this great literature? Not in the least. But if you have a kid that loves dogs and holiday stories, this is a happy little book that just makes you smile to read it. Which is nice sometimes, especially when life is getting you down.

[Blake G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite part of the book was when Santa Paws woke up looking for his parents and the rest of his family because it made me want to read more thinking will he find them or will Santa Paws just have a long lost family. The book reminded me of when I adopted a dog from his family it made me wonder if that’s how my dog felt when I adopted him wondering about his family, I made prediction that he would not find his family the reason behind that is because out of all the books about dog's I have read something bad has happened bad. I wondered were his family was when they woke up I think the pound came by and picked them up because I heard the pound on the phone say " I picked up three dogs" so in my opinion maybe they dint see the forth dog. Now I would recommend this book to others because it is a great book if your a person interested in dogs like me so if you are go ahead and pick up the book to read all about it and find out all what happened throughout the story. This was a just write book for me I think because I had perfect comprehension through out the story and it was easy for me to summarize. I think the author wrote this book because he maybe had found lots of stray dogs with the same story to them. One of the problems in this book was when Santa Paws was separated and this problem was resolved when he found a human owner to take his mind off his family sadly. After reading this book I felt happy for the puppy that he found a human home put partly sad that he couldn’t find his original family and that kind of disappointed me. I was really surprise how he just totally forgot about his family. I will be reading other books written by this author it was very exciting to turn to the next page to me. The theme of this story was Santa Paws getting lost but soon finding a new family. Try reading this for yourself.
By: Blake G.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those nostalgic reads and it did really touch me when my mother told me that it was a book that my husband had enjoyed when he was a boy. As he is now against reading and doesn't claim any favorite books from when he did read as a boy I have been handed a special gift due to that comment.

This is one of those books that is warming to the heart in the fact that even though the little dog has everything against him he doesn't take it to heart. Instead he does what is right at least in his own mind and helps to improve the world around him, which in turn helps others to improve their own broken relationships with each other. A most definite classic message for the season.

Unfortunately for me the lack of communication from the dog at least to himself as well as the common repetitiveness of using either "he" or just "the dog" got a bit on my nerves. I understand the pup was meant to be homeless but couldn't there have been quite another way to address the main hero without using the same means over and over again. There were also spots that just seemed to be a bit more bland and boring to me while it was hard to keep my attention in that case.

All in all it was a decent and nice holiday story but one that may be a bit more attractive to younger readers instead of older readers.

[Miltona 3rd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read the book Santa Paws. The character is Santa Paws. He is a dog that helps out a lot of people. His family left him and he was abandoned.The setting is a small town called Oceanport. Santa Paws wanders around Oceanport looking for food and water. Some nice kids named Gregory and Patrica give him food and water. Sometimes Santa Paws had some troubles. It's almost Christmas and Santa Paws is stuck outside.This book is a good level for 2nd grade through 4th graders because it's about 150 pages. The author of Santa Paws is Nicholas Edwards. I like him because he writes interesting adventures that Santa Paws goes on. Will Santa Paws get a home? Find out in the book Santa Paws.

[Jaxzon Sydnor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was about A puppy that gets separated form its family and Know from his adventure is know and forever known as Santa Paws.

I give the book a five star because it's a really good book unless you don't like short books. But it is a really good and has a good story line about Santa Paws and definitely read if you enjoy adventure.

This book reminded me of my dog that I used to have named patchy. He would always wonder of on a adventure I wish he was still around I miss him a lot.

I would not recommended this book if your a no-adventure person and people that don't like a short funny action and adventure book than definitely don't read :/ .

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very good but really sad through out the whole book. There's a dog who is homeless in the worst winter ever with no place to go, and he's trying to find his family. During the the book he does many heroic things.Some of the things he does are he rescued a 3 year old drowning boy, he found blind girls missing wallet.and recued a whole family from their burning house. And that's only a few! It's a very easy read but I would recomend it to anyone who loves dogs and Christmas time!:)

[Donna Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great chapter book to read with kids over the holidays. I'm not even a dog lover but I loved this book. This is the second Christmas that we have read it and rather than passing it along, I am keeping it again for next year. It's about a homeless puppy that goes around doing good deeds in a small town in the busy month of December. Will he survive living on the streets? Or will he be adopted into a loving family?

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this book seven years ago, I considered it 4 stars. Now I rate it a 5. Perhaps the lower score before was because: 1) now that I have read series #2,3, and 4, I have a fuller understanding of the characters in this book, and 2) because the first and end parts of the book have some terribly sad things happening.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute and fun little series. I feel like the author does a good job of writing from the perspective of a dog. My only complaints are the constant emphasis on inclusive holiday practices in the city in terms of decorations and church services, etc. Christmas is not about "community." It is about Christ. And the stories do start to seem a bit repetitive as the series goes on.

[Jenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I have these books on here is because as a kid they were easily one of my favourite series. They're definitely packed with kid-friendly adventure and the good-guys always win! They are so cute and I'll always remember loving them.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great children's series, recommended for the lower reading level. I started with these, and fell in love with reading, then I moved on to the Warriors series. I would recommend these to any parents looking for a book to get their children in love with reading.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son Aaron loved this book series when he was growing up. Now I've been reading it to my grandson Jonas. As an adult, it was a little painful to read but Jonas seemed to enjoy it enough and it held his attention.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember this being such a heartwarming (but sometimes heartbreaking) book. I read it when I was way younger. I probably should read it again. I recall it being a good book, so I recommend it!

[Tropes_and_Taboo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book to my daughter for her bed time reading. Quite an enjoyable book.

[Melanie Bracco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a stray puppy who's homeless and is separated from his family and is like the male version of Lassie; saving anyone in the town of Oceanport who is in need of help. Eventually the townspeople start to take notice of his heroics, and they affectionately call him "Santa Paws." He befriends a young boy named Gregory, and Gregory and his friends leave food and water for him at the school playground, along with a cardboard box for Santa Paws to sleep in. Gregory takes a real liking to the young puppy and would love nothing more than to get to keep the dog, thinking he would be the best Christmas present he ever had.
I loved this book! Told mostly from the young puppy's point of view, it is inspirational, heartbreaking, and sometimes humorous. I can't wait to read the sequel, The Return of Santa Paws!

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Santa paws By Nickolas Edwards is a story about a lost puppy all alone at Christmastime in the little town of Oceanport. The puppy’s family have been taken away from him and he has nowhere to go. He has to live on the streets and fend for himself. Then one day he finds himself surrounded by children! One child named Gregory and his friend Oscar take a particular liking to him. The puppy needs a home and this might be the perfect home for him, but Oceanport has a quite a few problems around and could it be this puppy who’s rescuing everybody?

This is a heartwarming Christmas read that proves that there really CAN be Christmas miracles. This is the first book in the Santa Paw series and I read them almost every Christmas because they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I recommend you read this book because its a nice Christmas read and the story is well written.