The Girl Who Saved Christmas (A Boy Called Christmas)

by Matt Haig (Author) Chris Mould (Illustrator)

The Girl Who Saved Christmas (A Boy Called Christmas)
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Fans of A Boy Called Christmas will rejoice at this whimsical story of the first child to ever be gifted a Christmas present!

Amelia Wishart was the first child ever to receive a Christmas present. It was her Christmas spirit that gave Santa the extra boost of magic he needed to make his first trip around the world. But now Amelia is in trouble.

When her mother falls ill, she is sent to the workhouse to toil under cruel Mr. Creeper. For a whole year, Amelia scrubs the floors and eats watery gruel, without a whiff of kindness to keep her going. It's not long before her hope begins to drain away.

Meanwhile, up at the North Pole, magic levels dip dangerously low as Christmas approaches, and Santa knows that something is gravely wrong. With the help of his trusty reindeer, a curious cat, and Charles Dickens, he sets out to find Amelia, the only girl who might be able to save Christmas. But first Amelia must learn to believe again. . . .

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School Library Journal

Gr 4-6--Eight-year-old Amelia toils as a destitute chimney sweep in 1840's London, desperately hoping for a miracle that can heal her sick mother and save her family. It turns out that magic and hope alone are what makes Christmas happen, and Amelia's unconditional belief empowers Father Christmas enough to perform his first Christmas. Two years later, Father Christmas's kingdom has been destroyed by giant trolls and the orphaned Amelia is a prisoner in a horrible workhouse. She no longer believes in magic--without her, Father Christmas cannot continue, so he loads his sleigh and heads off to London to find her. The story is fast-paced and playful, peopled with interesting characters and unique details such as the "Barometer of Hope" and the invention of the "Tell-Elf-Home," but what sets this story apart are the genuine emotions exhibited by all--loss, fear, sadness, and, ultimately, love. VERDICT An inventive Christmas-themed origin tale that is a pure holiday treat.--Sada Mozer, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Matt Haig has an empathy for the human condition, the light and the dark of it, and he uses the full palette to build his excellent stories." —Neil Gaiman, Newbery-winning author of The Graveyard Book

"With a little bit of naughty and a lot of nice, this Christmastime yarn is a veritable sugarplum." —Kirkus Reviews
Matt Haig
MATT HAIG is an internationally bestselling author whose novels for children and adults have been translated into twenty-six languages. His children's books have won the Smarties Gold Award, the Alex Award, and the Blue Peter Book Award, and been nominated several times for the Carnegie Medal and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. His most recent book, the bestselling A Boy Called Christmas, was praised by Stephen Fry as "the most evergreen, immortal Christmas story to be published for decades." He lives in Brighton, on the south coast of England, with his wife and two children. Visit him at matthaig.com and follow him at @matthaig1.

CHRIS MOULD began studying art at the age of sixteen and has gone on to become an acclaimed illustrator of children's books, including Matt Haig's A Boy Called Christmas. He lives with his wife and two children in Yorkshire. Visit him at chrismould.blogspot.com and follow him at @chrismouldink.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781524700447
Lexile Measure
640
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date
October 20, 2017
Series
A Boy Called Christmas
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV017010 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Christmas & Advent
Library of Congress categories
Magic
Orphans
London (England)
Christmas stories
Christmas
Santa Claus

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