The Christmasaurus and the winter witch (You're on the naughty list) by Tom Fletcher
Illus. by Shane Devries. Penguin Random House Australia, 2019. ISBN:
9780241338537.
(Ages 8-12). Highly recommended. Themes: Christmas, Dinosaurs,
Children with Physical disabilities, Magic. William (who is in a
wheelchair), his dad, his new girlfriend Pamela and her daughter
Brenda are taken on a tour of the North Pole by Santa in the week
before Christmas. While on this tour they meet the Winter witch who
shows William a time in the future when Christmas is banned. To a
boy and his family who embrace all that Christmas has to offer with
true enthusiasm, this is a disaster. William must work with his good
friend the Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch to try to save
Christmas.
The story involves a great variety of Christmas characters in the
North Pole such as the elves who sing a delightful song of welcome
to William on their arrival. The other Christmassy magic, such as
the little wishes in the Forest of wishes and the Brain freeze
potion, to allow the Winter witch to freeze time for Santa on his
journey around the world, will interest young readers and work well
to explain the way Santa works at Christmas. The fact that Santa
doesn't trust Brenda with a special magic bean he gives to William
creates a way for Brenda's nasty toy store owner father to create
the chaos that may destroy Christmas.
The story also explores the idea of the blended family and many
children who move between two parents and two houses, especially at
Christmas, will empathize with the way Brenda and William's
adventures allow them to develop into true siblings by the end of
the story.
This will be a popular story for families to read at Christmas time
to get into the festive spirit. The way the author uses his voice to
intrude into the story and increases the magic and humour for the
reader is like having your own personal conversation with the writer
while you read. Although this is the second book in this series it
stands alone and is a delightful, adventurous story that will appeal
to many Middle primary children especially at Christmas.
Gabrielle Anderson