SantaKid

by James Patterson, Michael Garland (Illustrator)

Join the Claus family as they bring Christmas magic back to the North Pole in James Patterson's uplifting story of holiday cheer.
 
When Warrie Ransom, the Big Boss of the Exmas Express Company, decides to buy Christmas and rename it Exmas, the Claus family can't believe their eyes. Everything at the North Pole seems to change overnight—the elves stop making kids' favorite toys, the Christmas doves won't fly or sing, and no one seems to laugh anymore. It looks like Christmas is going to be ruined.
 
But then the Claus family's daughter, Chrissie, remembers something she had learned from her dad: you must believe in something bigger than yourself. With a little help from her dad's helpers, Chrissie—as santaKid—delivers presents to children on Christmas eve, sending Warrie Ransom back to where he came from! After all, when you believe in something, magic can happen.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Holiday, Humor, Young Adult

48 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2004

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork looks computer generated and it bothered me throughout the book for some reason that doesn’t make sense. I’m pretty used to it by now.

Santa and Mrs. Claus had a kid. She lives at the north pole. She saves Christmas. There is a huge man that somehow buys the north pole and tries to take over Christmas. That part doesn’t make much sense to me.

I mean, Santa having a kid is a new idea and all and the book has new ideas, but the story seemed rather generic to me overall.

The kids thought this was fun. Both children gave this 4 stars. They liked the story. I would give it 2 stars without their input. I think most kids into Santa will find this fun.

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with mom and my 8 yr old niece... anything with Santa is her favorite thing:) Found it at the Church Thrift Store in the free pile.

She loved it and mom enjoyed reading it to her. I enjoyed seeing her loving the book but was underwhelmed with the story. Probably would have been better as an animated movie than book, just my opinion.

Artwork was cute, I'll give it that.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of how Santa's daughter had to save Christmas. Exmas Express had bought the North Pole and Christmas too and made it a commercialized mess. The company was mass producing Christmas under the direction of its CEO Warrie Ransom-- an angry, mean and demanding boss. Christmas Eve arrived but the company's semis were stuck and couldn't deliver the toys only 50% of the world's children were targeted to get. Chrissy, Santa's daughter, stepped in and saved the day. Another book with wonderful illustrations.

[Rod Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard to believe this godawful riff on "The Year without a Santa Claus" was written by one of the most successful writers on the planet. When Santa seems to give up following a corporate takeover of the North Pole, it's up to his daughter Chrissie Claus to save Christmas by . . . believing.

Ugh.

Some children might like the idea of a kid taking over for Santa Claus, but my daughter hated this when she was five and continues to hate it today nearly twenty years later.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm surprised that this book is/was a bestseller. It's a cheesy story about Santa's daughter Chrissie saving Christmas. We took it back to the library after one read, and that is unusual for us.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chrissie, Santa's daughter, saves Christmas from being ruined by Mr. Ransom, a big boss/executive-type who buys the North Pole and Christmas. Chrissie even flew the sleigh and delivered the presents to the world's children!

I could see children really getting into the story because they would love rooting for a child to overcome the challenge of a bossy adult. I wouldn't necessarily say the story is spectacular but the illustrations are fabulous, the characters are warm, and concept is decent.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute. She's Santa's Daughter! My class loves it every time.

[Kelsey Yates · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh.

[Kathy Chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

james Patterson is truly a versatile author. lovely reads for kids and I love the illustration.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too long/wordy. Dumb. Not for me. That said, one of the second graders liked it enough to recommend it and ask me to read it to her class, which is nice.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids absolutely LOVE this story!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Santa kid was the best Christmas story books I've ever read because it was like a mystery type of book. So now I know who really gave out the gifts on Christmas because it sure wasn't Santa Claus and if you want to know who gave out the presents you must read this book. Reading this really cool book isn't an option because it's a must have to read book. There so many thing that happened in the beginning of that book that once I started to read I had to find out what what happened at the end. This book only takes about ten minutes to read and its a really good book to read to your younger kids. Read this book and find out who Chrissie is and what Santa looks like and the normal this that go on at the North Pole.


BELOW
The protagonist: Santa Claus

The antagonist(s): Warrie Ransom

Conflict: Warrie went to the North Pole to buy Christmas

Changes protagonist went through: Santa Claus got sad

Resolution: Warrie apologized and got a gift for Christmas

Denouement:Santa and Others celebrated

Poignant line:Chrissie handing the gifts to the Ransom family

[Jennifer Fischer · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my opinion, this book was just okay. I like the idea of Santa’s daughter saving Christmas and I like the overall message about the power of believing, but I wasn’t a fan of how the story was executed. I feel like there were parts thrown in just for a laugh factor or to make the story more appealing for kids, but they didn’t really fit well with the overall vibe of the book.

I’m probably being overly generous by giving two stars for this one, but I did like the illustrations and I think the book should get some credit for those!

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, since it's a Christmas book, but I just couldn't. Some of the pictures (not all) are startling in their sweetness and perspective, but most are simply cartoonish. The story is dumb. A businessman buys the North Pole and Santa is defeated and does nothing. The businessman can't get the presents shipped out, though, so Santa's daughter saves the day. Sounds like a cute story, but this is not a keeper.

[Jeani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this story! Puts the focus on the magic and hope and belief in Christmas while still enjoying all of the fluffy extras of the holiday season.

[Charley Rains · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a nasty story ... tried reading it to my grandson and was shocked. Will get rid of this piece of trash.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

"SantaKid" is a cute book by the well-known bestselling author James Patterson. The illustrations by Michael Garland are adorable and colorful despite doing an excellent job portraiting the the bleakness of the North Pole landscape. I was surprised Patterson chose a female main character and no male sidekick as it might discourage young boys from reading the book. While not a big fan of mass marketers, I was a bit disappointed on how evil Patterson portraited Warrie Ransom. I fear Patterson might turn children completely against big business rather than show its positive and negative sides.

[Magpie67 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trevor and I didn't like Warrie Ransom and we enjoyed kicking him out of the North Pole. Exmas Express wasn't for us and Chrissie didn't think so either. Cute story about believing and keeping the faith. "I talked to every kid, and you know what I told them.? I told them Christmas isn't about getting presents. I told the kids that Christmas is about something much, much bigger than presents. Christmas is about believing! Wow! said my Dad, and everybody around our table joined in. That's what happened? That's great! I started to laugh and then I winked at Santa and Momma Claus. Yeah, and then I gave everybody their presents!"

[Shira Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to my son by his teacher for Christmas and I like it. It is about Santa's daughter and how she saves Christmas from the mean Warrier and EXMAS EXPRESS. The moral of the story is to believe in more than your self and you will be able to do things you yourself may have never thought was possible. I recommend reading this book for pure enjoyment of the season. However, like in any other children's literature there are things that could be taught to young children during reading this story (ex. prediction, expression "BIG/BOLD VOICE", etc.)

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun book. My girls loved it and I enjoyed reading in a really loud boisterous voice to my girls. It was a fun telling of Christmas with a subtle message that younger kids might not pick up on but an adult reading with their child certainly does: Christmas should't be about materialistic things... but it's OK to enjoy presents. The pictures were fun and the dialog was easy to read but still well-written.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the North Pole is taken over by a large retailer, things dramatically change for the worse. Deadlines are not met, toys that no one wants to play with are produced in bulk, and children will not have presents on Christmas. Santa's little girl comes to the rescue.

While this is a cute story, it is the illustrations that make it magical. Clean, clear and digitally reproduced, it looks as though each image is airbrushed to perfection.

[BecksBookPicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son came home yesterday from school with this book, SantaKid by James Patterson. I was like, cool James Patterson! So I sat down with the children to read it and I thought it was a great little modern day family Christmas story. If you have children, I would definitely check it out. My children were captivated by the story and really seemed to enjoy it.

[Elly Squire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute Christmas book. I think kids get really excited about Christmas time, and in the excitement of it all, I think this is a fun family read. It embraces the Christmas spirit and Christmas is an exciting time that kids can relate to with excitement and happiness.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story for the young or old. Teaches you to Believe....I bought it for my 8 year old granddaughter...but I had to read it before giving it to her and I just loved it and I am sure she will too...so will her older brothers...

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute, I read it to my 4th graders every year. Some still believe, some don't. I don't let them talk about it and spoil it, but the books message about believing in the spirit and magic of Christmas is heartwarming ! A reminder to stay a believer at all ages..

[John Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is a kid's book. I bought it because it's James Patterson and it looks cool. It was a pretty short read, but I'm giving it 5 stars because kids will love it. I liked the illustrations in all the pages. I plan on giving this book away to my niece this Christmas. :)

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have this tradition in my family wear someone in the family reads a children's Christmas book everyday in December leading up to Christmas. Well, I read this one and it was adorable. The message was great and the illustrations were really nice.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story about Santa's kid, who saves Christmas when a big company, Exmas tries to buy Christmas and the North Pole. Exmas is a disaster at Christmas and Santa Kid has to save the day! James Patterson did a great job with this fun reminder to believe in something bigger.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read my review of this book on my blog: http://familybriefs.com/2007/12/29/st...

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute children's Christmas book by one of my favorite authors.