The Santa List

by Kieran Mark Crowley

 

What would you do if Santa put you on his Naughty List? A magical Christmas adventure like no other, with an Elf called Jiggles, a race to save Christmas, and lots of cat food!

When Aisling and Joe antagonise their tough new babysitter, she writes to Santa asking for them to be put on the "naughty list". Determined not to be denied their Christmas presents, the pair seek help from the school bully - who always gets presents, no matter how badly he behaves! Unfortunately this leads to them stealing the Santa List. After all, if Santa doesn’t have the list then he can’t tell if you’ve been naughty or nice, can he?

But when the kids have a change of heart, they face a race-against-time adventure to return the list to Mr Claus, before Christmas is ruined. And when they are stopped by someone who absolutely hates Christmas . . . Christmas may not be saved after all!

Perfect for fans of The Grinch who Stole Christmas, The Christmasaurus, Ben Miller and David Baddiel. 

Genres: Christmas, Middle Grade

150 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2021

About the author

Kieran Crowley is from Cork in Ireland. His first book, "Colm & the Lazarus Key" was shortlisted for the Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award 2010 and was followed by a sequel, "Colm & The Ghost's Revenge". His third book "The Mighty Dynamo" was shortlisted for the Hull Children's Book Award in 2017. "The Misfits Club" was published by Macmillan (Ire & UK) in 2017. "The Santa List" will be published by Scholastic in October 2021.

Reviews

[Belles Middle Grade Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun Christmas read with adventure & some great lessons. When Aisling and Joe antagonise their tough new babysitter, she writes to Santa asking for them to be put on the "naughty list". Determined not to be denied their Christmas presents, the pair seek help from the school bully - who always gets presents, no matter how badly he behaves!Unfortunately this leads to them stealing the Santa List. After all, if Santa doesn't have the list then he can't tell if you've been naughty or nice, can he? But when the kids have a change of heart, they face a race-against-time adventure to return the list to Mr Claus, before Christmas is ruined. And when they are stopped by someone who absolutely hates Christmas . . . Christmas may not be saved after all! This was a fun quick read, that is great for all the Santa Christmas feels. Some great messages, as well as a racing the clock adventure to save the day. Beautiful cover front & back, & illustrations throughout by James Lancett too!💜

[Sinead Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute kids book to snuggle up with your little ones with ✨

[Alana Popescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aceasta carte este foarte interesantă, mi-a plăcut mai ales când găsesc lista si îl găsesc pe Moș Crăciun .Chiar o recomand cu drag.

[Frank Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses Review bezieht sich auf die deutsche Edition, erschienen im arsEdition Verlag mit der ISBN 3845850698.

Das Thema, dass Kinder in der Vorweihnachtszeit von einem Babysitter versorgt werden und dann alles drüber und drunter geht, ist nicht neu (nicht umsonst wird auf den Kinderbuchklassiker „Hilfe, die Herdmanns kommen“ verwiesen). Aber auch nicht tragisch, wenn die Geschichte gut erzählt ist. So wie es der irische Schriftsteller Kieran Crowley mit seiner wilden Weihnacht geschafft hat.

Im Mittelpunkt der Geschichte steht das Geschwisterpaar Amy und Joe, die versuchen kurz vor Weihnachten weniger chaotisch und brav zu sein, damit sie nicht von der Liste der braven Kinder des Weihnachtsmanns gestrichen werden. Das kostet ein wenig Mühe, denn bisher haben die beiden jeden Babysitter vergraulen können. Mit Streichen, die weit über das normale Maß hinausgehen. In diesem Jahr haben ihre Eltern Mrs. Groff aufgetan, an der ihre Streiche abperlen wie Wasser auf einer seifigen Oberfläche.

Und dann führt das eine zum anderen, bis plötzlich das Weihnachtsfest für alle Kinder der Erde in Gefahr ist und sich eine bunte Truppe bildet, um das Fest zu retten. Und genau hier setzt der Autor an, um auf das Zwischenmenschliche einzugehen, und um der jungen Leserschaft zu vermitteln, dass es zu Weihnachten nicht nur um Geschenke geht. Es wird im Laufe der Geschichte zudem etwas magisch, denn wer hat behauptet, dass der Weihnachtsmann eine Erfindung sei?

Fazit
In dem Buch übertreibt der Autor gerne und wird so sicherlich die Kinder gut erreichen. Gedacht ist das Buch für leseerfahrene Kinder ab zirka 8 Jahren. Dafür sind die Kapitel kurz und die Schrift etwas größer. Zudem wird der Inhalt mit Illustrationen von Julia Christians untermalt. Wenn Kinder gerne dezent fantastische Geschichten mögen, dann ist dieses Buch eine gute Wahl.

[D'ale lui Damian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lista Lui Moș Crăciun -Kieran Crowley
3☆

Aisling și Joe sunt dou frați ce le dau bătăi mari de cap bonelor, acestea nerezistand prea mult în preajma lor.

Se apropie sărbătorile de Crăciun, iar părinții lor sunt nevoiți să plece într-o călătorie de afaceri, apelând la o nouă bonă, doamna Grough.Aceasta este cea mai exigenta bonă întâlnită, cu reguli foarte stricte și severe: câinele stă afară, au ore fixe de mâncare, culcare, program prestabilit etc. Copiii, netinand cont de regulile ei, îl baga pe câine în casă, acesta rontaindu-i geamantanul, lucru ce o determină sa-i scrie o scrisoare lui Moș Crăciun în care îi cere sa-i treacă pe lista copiilor obraznici.

Ce credeți ca au făcut copiii? Tot posibilul de a ajunge la Moș Crăciun pentru a-i explica greșelile comise, iar proaspătul prieten-Victor, își însușește lista copiilor, chiar o și pierde, vazandu-se toți a fi nevoiți să colaboreze pentru a salva Crăciunul.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siblings Aisling & Joe are a handful for any babysitter so when their parents need to go away just before Christmas they hire Mrs Grough and they soon realise it’s like being in prison! After pulling one too many pranks Mrs Grough writes to Santa to put them on the naughty list. In horror they try to stop the letter and with their friend, local bully Victor, they decide that stealing Santa’s list is the only answer! But then things get out of hand! A fun read which has hidden messages of forgiveness, loneliness and learning to be grateful for what you have.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good little middle grade book about two naughty children who go an adventure including a strict babysitter, a school bully, a grumpy old man with twelve cats along for the ride and there pet dog. This really got going in the second half and I loved the conclusion of this wonderful book.

[Rebecca Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this in my opinion it is perfect for children who want a Christmasy book the characters are great too.

[Kelly Garlinge · Rating 2 out of 5]

We always get a Christmas themed book to read as a bedtime story in December. The fact this one took us until February to finish shows how little it caught our imagination.

[Grace Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect read at Christmas it is so funny and guaranteed to warm the coldest of hearts 🎅🤶

A reread for me and my niece this year just as festive, funny and joyous as the first time I read the book.

[Erin Bothwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my 4th time reading this book now and I will continue to read it every November/December it is absolutely amazing!!!