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If I Were Saint Nick---by the Cat in the Hat: A Christmas Story
The Cat imagines how HE would fill-in for Santa Claus in this hilarious new Beginner Book--a sequel to If I Had Your Vote by the Cat in the Hat--that's perfect for Christmas celebrations and gift giving!
After receiving a letter from Santa Claus, the Cat in the Hat contemplates how HE would run Christmas differently if put in charge of the Whole North Pole Show. Among the things he'd change: dressing his elves--Thing One and Thing Two--in Toy Making Sweaters with real tricks up their sleeves; wrapping presents in singing gift wrap; using Cane Cranes to lift giant candy canes up into four-story tall stockings; and designing a new expandable Santa Suit to store all the cookies and snacks people leave him!
A perfect cheerful choice for seasonal read-alouds and holiday gift-giving, this rhymed easy-reader will delight Dr. Seuss fans and Cat fanciers young and old!
Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.
After receiving a letter from Santa Claus, the Cat in the Hat contemplates how HE would run Christmas differently if put in charge of the Whole North Pole Show. Among the things he'd change: dressing his elves--Thing One and Thing Two--in Toy Making Sweaters with real tricks up their sleeves; wrapping presents in singing gift wrap; using Cane Cranes to lift giant candy canes up into four-story tall stockings; and designing a new expandable Santa Suit to store all the cookies and snacks people leave him!
A perfect cheerful choice for seasonal read-alouds and holiday gift-giving, this rhymed easy-reader will delight Dr. Seuss fans and Cat fanciers young and old!
Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2022
1 person is currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Alastair Heim
32 books45 followersChildren's picture book author of:
- The #1 New York Times Best Selling HOW THE GRINCH LOST CHRISTMAS (Random House)
- IF I WERE SAINT NICK BY THE CAT IN THE HAT (Random House/Dr. Seuss Beginner Books)
- IF I RAN YOUR SCHOOL BY THE CAT IN THE HAT (Random House/Dr. Seuss Beginner Books)
- IF I HAD YOUR VOTE BY THE CAT IN THE HAT (Random House/Dr. Seuss Beginner Books)
- SIGN SAYS STOP (Simon & Schuster/Simon Spotlight)
- QUIET DOWN, LOUD TOWN (HMH/Clarion)
- LOVE YOU, TOO (Little Bee Books)
- NO TOOTING AT TEA (HMH/Clarion)
- THE GREAT PUPPY INVASION (HMH/Clarion)
- HELLO, DOOR (Little Bee Books)
- The #1 New York Times Best Selling HOW THE GRINCH LOST CHRISTMAS (Random House)
- IF I WERE SAINT NICK BY THE CAT IN THE HAT (Random House/Dr. Seuss Beginner Books)
- IF I RAN YOUR SCHOOL BY THE CAT IN THE HAT (Random House/Dr. Seuss Beginner Books)
- IF I HAD YOUR VOTE BY THE CAT IN THE HAT (Random House/Dr. Seuss Beginner Books)
- SIGN SAYS STOP (Simon & Schuster/Simon Spotlight)
- QUIET DOWN, LOUD TOWN (HMH/Clarion)
- LOVE YOU, TOO (Little Bee Books)
- NO TOOTING AT TEA (HMH/Clarion)
- THE GREAT PUPPY INVASION (HMH/Clarion)
- HELLO, DOOR (Little Bee Books)
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 11, 2024
I’m sorry. Apparently, this will be an unpopular opinion, but I have to say that it is a travesty to publish this as a Dr. Seuss (ish) book. The rhymes are more infantile than those my 10-year-old could write; there’s nothing clever or unique or unorthodox about them. Perhaps that’s because the book is marked for “early readers,” so I’ll let that lie, but shouldn’t Seuss’s characters resemble the originals in some way, at the very least?
The premise of the book is what would happen if the Cat in the Hat were to fill in for Santa Claus, and he does. That’s all he does—he acts like Santa. He plays it straight as if he were Claus himself. He tells us he would rode the sleigh and hang tinsel and deliver gifts. So? How is that in character for a cat once so mischievous some parents stopped reading it to their kids for fear of mimicking behavior?!
My daughter and I opened the book, expecting the Cat in the Hat to string gifts from the ceiling, hide the presents in unruly ways, or set traps, where if kids pulled the lid from a box, they might get covered in feathers or jam or worse. We thought the cat might drive his sleigh upside down or backwards, dress up the reindeer in some silly fashion, or anything, anything at all, resembling the character that Seuss so lovingly developed. But nope. This seems like a missed opportunity. And don’t get me started on how docile and dull Thing One and Thing Two are.
If you need a silver lining or a redeeming quality, at least it will put the kiddos to sleep. It’s that boring.
The premise of the book is what would happen if the Cat in the Hat were to fill in for Santa Claus, and he does. That’s all he does—he acts like Santa. He plays it straight as if he were Claus himself. He tells us he would rode the sleigh and hang tinsel and deliver gifts. So? How is that in character for a cat once so mischievous some parents stopped reading it to their kids for fear of mimicking behavior?!
My daughter and I opened the book, expecting the Cat in the Hat to string gifts from the ceiling, hide the presents in unruly ways, or set traps, where if kids pulled the lid from a box, they might get covered in feathers or jam or worse. We thought the cat might drive his sleigh upside down or backwards, dress up the reindeer in some silly fashion, or anything, anything at all, resembling the character that Seuss so lovingly developed. But nope. This seems like a missed opportunity. And don’t get me started on how docile and dull Thing One and Thing Two are.
If you need a silver lining or a redeeming quality, at least it will put the kiddos to sleep. It’s that boring.
July 5, 2024
Excerpt from the book:
A letter just came
from the BIG MAN IN RED.
He sent it to ME!
Oh, the things that he said . . .
He wrote me to say
that he wanted to know
if I would take charge
of the WHOLE NORTH POLE SHOW
if ever he needed
a break or a pause -
to rest or releax
(or perhaps . . . just BE-CLAUS)!
A letter just came
from the BIG MAN IN RED.
He sent it to ME!
Oh, the things that he said . . .
He wrote me to say
that he wanted to know
if I would take charge
of the WHOLE NORTH POLE SHOW
if ever he needed
a break or a pause -
to rest or releax
(or perhaps . . . just BE-CLAUS)!
December 8, 2022
The Cat in the Hat, and his whimsical thoughts, if he were asked by Santa to fill in for him at the North Pole during the Christmas holiday season.
December 28, 2024
Someone else took Dr. Seuss's characters and created a holiday story with them. They try and recreate the zaniness of the Cat in the hat and it's cute, but it isn't quite the same. It's fine.
The cat talks about how crazy he would be if he were St. Nick, but we never see it. There isn't all that much craziness in here.
The artwork was copying the style of Dr. Seuss and that works well. It looks like the cat in the hat and it feels like it too.
The cat talks about how crazy he would be if he were St. Nick, but we never see it. There isn't all that much craziness in here.
The artwork was copying the style of Dr. Seuss and that works well. It looks like the cat in the hat and it feels like it too.
July 18, 2025
In the beginning the Cat In The Hat got a letter from a
Big man in red. He wrote to him that he wanted to know
If he could take charge of being Santa Claus.
In the middle he had reindeers. He would count down
From 10 and skip to 4 and 0.
In the end they had a question. It asked if he should be Santa Claus.
I hope everybody is having a good day and I will be back
To update more books I’m not sure when. Bye.
Big man in red. He wrote to him that he wanted to know
If he could take charge of being Santa Claus.
In the middle he had reindeers. He would count down
From 10 and skip to 4 and 0.
In the end they had a question. It asked if he should be Santa Claus.
I hope everybody is having a good day and I will be back
To update more books I’m not sure when. Bye.
November 26, 2024
A fun what-if where the Cat in the Hat plots out all the ways he would run the North Pole and bring Christmas to kids. Do you think the Cat should get the chance? See what he says and decide for yourself.
January 10, 2023
boring but okay
December 8, 2023
A Christmas classic!
December 6, 2024
Super cute Christmas story!
December 10, 2024
Theo’s review: “I want to eat cake in the bathtub!”
Me: it’s fun!
Me: it’s fun!
January 14, 2025
What a cute Christmas book! It has hints back to the Cat in the Hat books in style and rhyme, and will compliment How the Grinch Stole Christmas on my book shelf!
Want to read
May 19, 2025O
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews