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Amelia Rules! #1.5

A Very Ninja Christmas

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In A Very Ninja Christmas , join Amelia and the gang for holiday-themed fun. With Amelia, of course, even Christmas is anything but typical!

80 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2009

3 people are currently reading
124 people want to read

About the author

Jimmy Gownley

89 books106 followers
Jimmy Gownley is the author and illustrator of the Amelia Rules! series of graphic novels, as well as the memoir The Dumbest Idea Ever!.

He has been nominated for 13 Eisner awards and 6 Harvey awards. His book Superheroes won the 2006 Cybil Award for best graphic novel for kids 12 and under.

He lives in Pennsylvania.

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5 stars
77 (54%)
4 stars
36 (25%)
3 stars
22 (15%)
2 stars
3 (2%)
1 star
4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
Profile Image for Kenneth.
24 reviews
December 30, 2017
The author was born and raised in my hometown so this book gets an automatic five star rating
Profile Image for Liz.
469 reviews3 followers
November 3, 2017
This is as cute and as good as all the rest. Although you can skip it because it is just a smaller collection of pieces of the main gn.
Profile Image for Dylan.
97 reviews1 follower
March 6, 2016
Amelia Rules is a book I read a few years ago and I adored it. But with the arrival of children and more I did not continue. Now my daughter is 9 years old the same age as Amelia and today she discovered Amelia at the library. She hasn't read it yet but I took the opportunity to read an Amelia story that I've never read. And it was brilliant. Amelia's parents are divorced her dad still lives in NYC, her mom moved herself and Amelia to Pennsylvania to live with her sister and Amelia's aunt Tanner, a former rock star.

It is Amelia's 1st Christmas as a child of divorced parent's and she uses the guilt they feel to maximize her present load, but then she learns her mom does not have as much as her dad and that Christmas presents may be light this year from Santa. So Amelia starts to freak, especially since one of her friends is planning to prove Santa is a fraud and gets Amelia and their friends Rhonda and Pajama Man to help. Later on Amelia discovers something out about Pajama Man which gets her to looking at Christmas from a different angle.

Filled with heart and humor this book nails the life of an overly smart girl trying to wrap her head around divorce and new beginnings. Also included in the book is a second story of how Amelia met her friends and some behind the scenes look at how creator Jimmy Gownley creates his story. Fun fast read, gorgeous art for all ages.
Profile Image for Holly Letson.
3,847 reviews527 followers
September 9, 2013
Amelia, a child of divorced parents, is now living in Nowheresville, where she hangs with a very weird crowd of friends. And, her goal in life, at the moment, is to make her parents feel sorry for her as a divorced child and give her tons of Christmas presents. But, her mother is onto her, and tells her this will not work.
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Meanwhile, her friends have decided to take on Santa Claus, who seems to be not giving them enough presents. Instead of making that any better, their Santa attack lands them on the NAUGHTY list....PERMANENTLY!!
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But, when Amelia sees how poor her friend, Pajama Man, is, she decides that she wants to play Santa herself, by making sure he gets the red ninja man toy he wants for Christmas.
Sure, that toy is high on her list, too, and she really wants it. But, she feels he needs it more. So, when she gets it herself, she leaves it on his doorsteps for him. He sees her running away as a flash of red, and thinks she really is Santa Claus. That's the true Spirit of Christmas, y'all!
33 reviews1 follower
December 10, 2015
Amelia Rules A Very Ninja Christmas is a great read for students who can relate to divorce of their own parents or friend's parents. Amelia is living with her mom and aunt in Pennsylvania far from Manhattan with her mother and father. She talks about playing upon her father's divorce and guilting him into buying her lavish presents. She goes through the story which in the end brings forth a lesson to be learned that even when what you want the most finally comes to you sometimes there are others that need it more.

Genre: illustrations and comic book style lend itself to this genre

Writing traits:
(1)Ideas - This story had a focused topic that readers could easily relate to, clear ideas, and was interesting to the reader.
(2)Voice - entertaining

This book can be used in the classroom as a genre for struggling readers who can work with this format to become engaged in reading. It can be utilized during any silent reading times. The book lends itself to discussion or essay writing about life lessons.
Profile Image for Ashley.
81 reviews1 follower
January 11, 2013
Meet Amelia Louise McBride. She's nine years old, a former New Yorker who's now living in a small town after her parents decided to get divorced, and dealing with everything from being the new kid in school to her first kiss. But you know what? She's got her mom and her aunt Tanner ( who happens to be an ex-rock star) and her friends Reggie, Rhonda, and Pajamaman, and everything's going to be okay. Except of course, when it isn't.

In this special holiday edition, Amelia focuses on what's really important at Christmas...ninja's! That is, until she realizes that not everyone, including her good friend Pajamaman, is as fortunate as she. Perhaps Amelia will create a Christmas miracle or her own...

With a heartwarming story and behind the scenes sketches, this Yuletide offering is the perfect way to join G.A.S.P. (Gathering of Awesome Super Pals) in celebrating the spirit of the season.
Profile Image for Dolly.
Author 1 book671 followers
July 19, 2014
This book contains story #4 of the 5 short stories contained in The Whole World's Crazy. It's likely a special edition just for Christmas, and although we'd all read the story previously, it was worth a reread.

The narrative is surprisingly deep and really captures the magic of Christmas (and the fear of getting no presents if you're naughty!) The illustrations are colorful and cartoonish and the characters are very expressive.

I liked the illustrations of Pajamaman and Amelia that run across the bottom of each page. If you flip quickly through the pages, the scene looks animated. Overall, it's a fun, fast read.
Profile Image for Kristin King.
Author 29 books37 followers
December 28, 2015
Written as a graphic comic, we still managed to do it as a read aloud. Amelia Rules! series where she and her friends are out to find out if Santa is real. He can't be, says one of her friends, because he hasn't gotten a Christmas present in years. Amelia takes her friends on a caper, discovers how much harder life is for some people, and the spirit of Christmas is alive and well in this Very Ninja Christmas.

Illustration Note: I especially appreciated the part where Amelia is told to go to bed and dream of "all the gifts you will receive" (picture of the tree), "and the ones you already have" (picture of a nativity set under the tree). Keeps the "Christ" child in Christmas without ever saying a word.
Profile Image for Beck.
310 reviews
December 9, 2009
One reprinted story and one new story. Although everybody theoretically loves an origins story, I wasn't overly charmed by the new tale of how Amelia made friends with the GASP crew. Elements, though, were still strong. And if I didn't love the series as a whole so darn much, it wouldn't come across as slightly disappointing.

I found the last couple pages on Gownley's writing process very interesting.
Profile Image for Eden Silverfox.
1,228 reviews102 followers
December 11, 2011
Amelia wants lots of presents for Christmas, but it seems she is poor and she knows she has to stay on Santa's good side if she wants to score big. But she finds out one of her friends hasn't gotten any Christmas presents for years and she realizes things aren't so bad for her after all.

It was a funny and sweet book. It was the first Amelia book I've ever read and I thought it was good, I liked it.
Profile Image for Caleb.
27 reviews1 follower
November 19, 2010
I loved it! It was so funny and it tought a great lesson about people that are less fortunet and about Christmas miracles! Amelia was nice and acted like Santa for Pajama Man (That's right, his name is Pajama Man!) and gave him the only thing he wanted because his parents couldn't buy it or anything at all even though that was thetop present on her list.
Profile Image for Alyssa (The Shady Glade).
173 reviews22 followers
March 20, 2012
The first 3/4 or so is a reprint of the Christmas story from book 1. The rest of the book covers the story about how Amelia met the GASP crew. It was cute and funny (Amelia always is), but I've read other stories I like better.

Great if you're just looking for a refresher or quick dose of Amelia fun for the holidays.
Profile Image for Brandy.
Author 2 books131 followers
December 28, 2010
Surprise! I still love Amelia! I've read the main story here before (I think it was published separately somewhere along the way?) but it's worth a re-read.

Fun fact: my son shares his birthday with my all-time favorite comics character.
93 reviews
June 6, 2012
Amelia wants to make this Christmas great. Through the chaos and antics of Amelia and her buddies, she realizes that she has much more than her friends. This graphic novel is full of Ninjas, Santa and fun as Amelia gives her friends the best gift of all.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
1,150 reviews10 followers
December 28, 2009
If you've read the other books in the series, then you're not missing much, as this book is a bit of a re-hash. But it was still very charming, and the perfect thing to read on Christmas Day.
Profile Image for Ann.
Author 1 book115 followers
Read
October 26, 2010
Thought this was a new one, but the stories are the same as from earlier Amelia Rules books. Cute little holiday book, tho.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
2,759 reviews36 followers
August 3, 2013
Half of this was a repeat from an earlier book, but the story is so tear-inducing I forgive them for repackaging it under a new title. The second half was enjoyable as well.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews

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