Fairy Tale Christmas

Gr 4-7--The Clandestines, a group of now unemployed fairy-tale villains, hatch a complicated plan to get the endings of their former stories ("Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Jack and the Beanstalk") changed in their favor by kidnapping Santa Claus. Their inside elf Goldman (formerly known as Rumpelstiltskin) knows that Santa has big plans to expand toy creation and delivery, so that all children, regardless of their behavior, will receive at least one present and have at least one happy childhood memory. The plan includes tricking Santa into crashing the fairy-tale heroes Christmas party, where the villains will take him hostage unless the heroes give up their endings. But Santa is a wily old elf, and comes up with his own plan to conquer the Clandestines by tricking them into participating in his new gift-giving scheme. The humor and schtick feel very grown-up--like something you'd find in a dinner theater holiday production. Still, the message is a good one, and drama club kids will appreciate the theatrical trappings and Broadway-type finale.--Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library