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Santa Paws #5
Santa Paws, Our Hero
Everyone's favorite canine hero, Santa Paws, is back in this fifth book in the series. Santa Paws's past rescues have made him quite a celebrity -- but he must prove himself in a new challenge.
Santa Paws has hit it big! Now that it's Christmastime again, he's been asked to do appearances at malls, shopping centers, and children's hospitals all throughout New England. But when disaster strikes, Santa Paws is there to save the day.
Santa Paws has hit it big! Now that it's Christmastime again, he's been asked to do appearances at malls, shopping centers, and children's hospitals all throughout New England. But when disaster strikes, Santa Paws is there to save the day.
176 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2002
4 people are currently reading
200 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Edwards
52 books66 followersNicholas Edwards is a pseudonym for Ellen Emerson White.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 27, 2021
Generally, I try not to be too hard on kids' books when it comes to ratings, but this was such a letdown compared to the first four.
The main problem seems to be the lack of a coherent theme. Without the structure provided by an origin story, a plane crash, a kidnapping, or a large scale weather event, there is nothing to guide this along, so it's extremely repetitive up until the gang arrives in Boston, at which point it turns into a guided tour of the city. Which might be interesting if you have any frame of reference, but I, sadly, do not.
Another issue is that repetitiveness. Not only is it boring (Callahans go somewhere, Santa Paws rescues someone, Callahans lament having a famous dog, rinse and repeat), but it lends itself to one-upsmanship. As in, Santa Paws has to perform bigger and better acts of heroism every single time to the point that it's ridiculous. Again, this is a kids' book about a heroic dog, so realism isn't exactly expected, but the attempt was at least made in earlier books. He was able to save some people simply by being there and listening, low-key but touching, and he didn't do anything against a dog's nature. Like sense that they need help with physical therapy without any training for such a thing. This is made worse by the fact that the books used to make fun of the idea that he could do bigger and better things, like curing disease.
The book also loses the thread on some bits, like Patricia's sling and potential boyfriend or Santa Paws' paws. All of these little details just kind of disappear and don't end up mattering, adding to the overall sense that the author was simply out of ideas, possibly even bored. Which is okay. This concept already produced four good books, miraculous by series standards, and it really is okay to just stop making things at that point!
The main problem seems to be the lack of a coherent theme. Without the structure provided by an origin story, a plane crash, a kidnapping, or a large scale weather event, there is nothing to guide this along, so it's extremely repetitive up until the gang arrives in Boston, at which point it turns into a guided tour of the city. Which might be interesting if you have any frame of reference, but I, sadly, do not.
Another issue is that repetitiveness. Not only is it boring (Callahans go somewhere, Santa Paws rescues someone, Callahans lament having a famous dog, rinse and repeat), but it lends itself to one-upsmanship. As in, Santa Paws has to perform bigger and better acts of heroism every single time to the point that it's ridiculous. Again, this is a kids' book about a heroic dog, so realism isn't exactly expected, but the attempt was at least made in earlier books. He was able to save some people simply by being there and listening, low-key but touching, and he didn't do anything against a dog's nature. Like sense that they need help with physical therapy without any training for such a thing. This is made worse by the fact that the books used to make fun of the idea that he could do bigger and better things, like curing disease.
The book also loses the thread on some bits, like Patricia's sling and potential boyfriend or Santa Paws' paws. All of these little details just kind of disappear and don't end up mattering, adding to the overall sense that the author was simply out of ideas, possibly even bored. Which is okay. This concept already produced four good books, miraculous by series standards, and it really is okay to just stop making things at that point!
October 7, 2014
This is a nice family tale of a large dog - and his cat and human friends - who have adventures. Santa Paws leaves his small town home for this book as his family travel to stay with relatives. However the habit of saving lives and getting people and animals out of trouble is too hard for the large dog to break, and before long he is helping out all over the city.
A funny note is that when he needs help for someone injured, he several times heads to the veterinary clinic where a human would head to a doctor. But this is still a good lesson for children; go wherever there are responsible people to help you. It doesn't need to be a hospital.
There are several explanations of how life works which lift this out of being a tale for small children and bring it into the younger of young adult books. It's also a nice Christmas story.
A funny note is that when he needs help for someone injured, he several times heads to the veterinary clinic where a human would head to a doctor. But this is still a good lesson for children; go wherever there are responsible people to help you. It doesn't need to be a hospital.
There are several explanations of how life works which lift this out of being a tale for small children and bring it into the younger of young adult books. It's also a nice Christmas story.
April 5, 2010
This book was absolutely outstanding. Just like the other books I read of Edwards. I am so psyched to read more of his books. This book caught my attention, and on every page I just kept thinking what was racing through his mind when he was writing this. To put into perspective of how dogs act and think. This book was astonishing, and in the end, I just wanted to read it all over again.
August 28, 2017
Fun read with my boy.
February 2, 2012
In our home, pet stories are all the rage. This really won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has ever been the parent of a 7-year-old reader. While my son mostly prefers non-fiction books, he’ll make the exception for anything that has a dog, cat, or hamster in it.
For this reason, Santa Claus was an especially big hit this year for bringing the first five books of the Santa Paws series. The opening book in the series, Santa Paws, had been a classroom reading option and now our young one has access to the whole series, something he is past thrilled by.
Not wanting the little one to have all the fun, Mom decided to read the series as well to see whether there was anything in them of merit. I have to say that I was rather pleased with the experience. They may not be great books on the level of classics, but they were highly entertaining, fast-paced, and endearing. Author Nicholas Edwards writes a solid story that is exciting and filled with suspense.
The fourth book in the series, Santa Paws to the Rescue may not have had the suspense and intensity of the first two books, but it is definitely an enjoyable one. In it Santa Paws, a dog with a heroic instinct for rescue, must save his family from the danger they find themselves in when a bad snowstorm hits. Santa Paws is a canine who makes Lassie look lazy.
If you ever thought your family had a bad day, you just might want to compare notes with the Callahans. It’s right before Christmas break starts and an ice storm hits their small town of Oceanport. In a single day, Gregory’s high school basketball game gets cancelled (despite the fact that they were winning for the first time in ages) and their bus slides off the road and gets stuck in a ditch on the way home. Patricia is hit by a car—a car driven by the teacher who had kept her after school for detention. Mrs. Callahan is in a car accident and gets surrounded by downed live wires in a little-traveled part of town through which she had been taking a shortcut.
That’s a lot of rescuing, even for Santa Paws and he doesn’t limit himself to the family. He’s got a whole town full of stranded people to help. In this book, he’s both hindered and assisted by the kitten, Abigail, whom he rescued in the previous book.
Edwards weaves in healthy doses of diversity in the pages of his book. Most of the time they manage to be subtle, though there are moments where you are being bashed over the head with it. Personally, I like that Patricia’s best friend Rachel is blind. Edwards is able to show her as having a great deal of independence while still portraying some of the challenges that she faces. Gregory’s best friend is black and the school appears to have a great deal of diversity despite the town’s small size.
There is a great deal of the book that is predictable, after all, it is a book about a heroic dog. However, Edwards does manage to make the reader worry about the fate of the characters and wonder whether Santa Paws is going to be able to pull it off this time. I also spent a lot of time wishing that people would just stay put for once, but no one ever does. It would, after all, hamper the suspense of the book and make it far less exciting. In a nod to realism, though, Edwards does have the family agree that they’re going to have to get cell phones to prevent a repeat of many of their troubles.
The early books in the series are definitely the better ones, but all of them are filled with uplifting, feel-good stories. Edwards fills them with little touches that delight pet lovers and children. My son laughed aloud for several minutes over the image of Gregory dancing with Santa Paws in the kitchen and told me that this series was the best ever.
I may not be willing to rank it quite so high, but I’ll definitely be picking up new books in the series as they are published.
The full series so far:
Santa Paws: The orphaned puppy is looking for a home.
Return of Santa Paws: Santa Paws, Patricia, Gregory, and Uncle Steve are in a plane crash that leaves them stranded in the mountains during a blizzard.
Santa Paws Comes Home: Santa Paws is dognapped.
Santa Paws to the Rescue: Santa Paws must rescue his family and others from an ice storm.
Santa Paws, Our Hero: Santa Paws takes a trip to Boston and finds new fame there.
Santa Paws and the New Puppy: The Callahans are bidding farewell to Oceanport.
Santa Paws Saves the Day: I haven’t read this one yet.
For this reason, Santa Claus was an especially big hit this year for bringing the first five books of the Santa Paws series. The opening book in the series, Santa Paws, had been a classroom reading option and now our young one has access to the whole series, something he is past thrilled by.
Not wanting the little one to have all the fun, Mom decided to read the series as well to see whether there was anything in them of merit. I have to say that I was rather pleased with the experience. They may not be great books on the level of classics, but they were highly entertaining, fast-paced, and endearing. Author Nicholas Edwards writes a solid story that is exciting and filled with suspense.
The fourth book in the series, Santa Paws to the Rescue may not have had the suspense and intensity of the first two books, but it is definitely an enjoyable one. In it Santa Paws, a dog with a heroic instinct for rescue, must save his family from the danger they find themselves in when a bad snowstorm hits. Santa Paws is a canine who makes Lassie look lazy.
If you ever thought your family had a bad day, you just might want to compare notes with the Callahans. It’s right before Christmas break starts and an ice storm hits their small town of Oceanport. In a single day, Gregory’s high school basketball game gets cancelled (despite the fact that they were winning for the first time in ages) and their bus slides off the road and gets stuck in a ditch on the way home. Patricia is hit by a car—a car driven by the teacher who had kept her after school for detention. Mrs. Callahan is in a car accident and gets surrounded by downed live wires in a little-traveled part of town through which she had been taking a shortcut.
That’s a lot of rescuing, even for Santa Paws and he doesn’t limit himself to the family. He’s got a whole town full of stranded people to help. In this book, he’s both hindered and assisted by the kitten, Abigail, whom he rescued in the previous book.
Edwards weaves in healthy doses of diversity in the pages of his book. Most of the time they manage to be subtle, though there are moments where you are being bashed over the head with it. Personally, I like that Patricia’s best friend Rachel is blind. Edwards is able to show her as having a great deal of independence while still portraying some of the challenges that she faces. Gregory’s best friend is black and the school appears to have a great deal of diversity despite the town’s small size.
There is a great deal of the book that is predictable, after all, it is a book about a heroic dog. However, Edwards does manage to make the reader worry about the fate of the characters and wonder whether Santa Paws is going to be able to pull it off this time. I also spent a lot of time wishing that people would just stay put for once, but no one ever does. It would, after all, hamper the suspense of the book and make it far less exciting. In a nod to realism, though, Edwards does have the family agree that they’re going to have to get cell phones to prevent a repeat of many of their troubles.
The early books in the series are definitely the better ones, but all of them are filled with uplifting, feel-good stories. Edwards fills them with little touches that delight pet lovers and children. My son laughed aloud for several minutes over the image of Gregory dancing with Santa Paws in the kitchen and told me that this series was the best ever.
I may not be willing to rank it quite so high, but I’ll definitely be picking up new books in the series as they are published.
The full series so far:
Santa Paws: The orphaned puppy is looking for a home.
Return of Santa Paws: Santa Paws, Patricia, Gregory, and Uncle Steve are in a plane crash that leaves them stranded in the mountains during a blizzard.
Santa Paws Comes Home: Santa Paws is dognapped.
Santa Paws to the Rescue: Santa Paws must rescue his family and others from an ice storm.
Santa Paws, Our Hero: Santa Paws takes a trip to Boston and finds new fame there.
Santa Paws and the New Puppy: The Callahans are bidding farewell to Oceanport.
Santa Paws Saves the Day: I haven’t read this one yet.
December 8, 2022
This is the first book I read of this middle grades series. All of the feels of Lassie, one of my favorite childhood, tv pastimes. Santa Paws is the present(ish) day version. He’s always out to save the day. While there may no longer be a Timmy, Santa Paws has an equally lovable family.
December 15, 2019
For a beginner vhildrens novel its cute. I read it to my daughter over the past week or so. She especially liked finding out that Meredith enjoyed "The Little Mermaid". Cute read for Christmas time.
November 8, 2022
The plot is really great.
November 15, 2024
Not much to say that I haven’t already said in the previous book’s reviews, although I find it humorous that now even the characters in universe find his saving antics repetitive and bothersome, almost at times wishing the dog would just let people die/suffer.
December 23, 2017
See the first book in the series for a full review.
January 3, 2025
Like all the Santa Paws books, this is a sweet, if unbelievable, book about a dog who saves people a lot, like several a day! It is heartwarming, and nice for the Christmas season!
July 1, 2019
A great story for the little ones
September 18, 2020
2018
Another cute little story about Santa Paws, the hero dog. In this tale (tail lol), the Callahan's decide to take a vacation over Christmas in the big city of Boston. Of course, this includes the entire family, which means all of the pets come, too. And, since Santa Paws is the dog that he is, that means he spends a majority of his time rescuing everyone he can find during the holiday season. This book also includes a repeat of a previous Santa Paws story, in which he gets lost. Luckily, there is a train crash/subway station collapse, and his family is able to track him down again.
It was a cute story, although the "getting lost" storyline was an old one. And felt a little bit rushed through in this story. The last time Santa Paws got lost, it was a trek that lasted for several days. In this one, his family manages to find him in Boston. Which is insane just to think about. I mean, yeah they took a lucky guess that he would be near a disaster, but it's Boston. I'm fairly confident than many many people need help there, so the odds of him being at a subway tunnel collapse just seems a bit forced. Which is why I rated it a four instead of a five.
I really used to love all of these Santa Paws stories, but rereading them as an adult makes me take a different perspective than I did when I was a kid. Although I still see the magic in the novels, certain things like a repeat storyline is going to bother me, where as a kid I would have just enjoyed the story.
Another cute little story about Santa Paws, the hero dog. In this tale (tail lol), the Callahan's decide to take a vacation over Christmas in the big city of Boston. Of course, this includes the entire family, which means all of the pets come, too. And, since Santa Paws is the dog that he is, that means he spends a majority of his time rescuing everyone he can find during the holiday season. This book also includes a repeat of a previous Santa Paws story, in which he gets lost. Luckily, there is a train crash/subway station collapse, and his family is able to track him down again.
It was a cute story, although the "getting lost" storyline was an old one. And felt a little bit rushed through in this story. The last time Santa Paws got lost, it was a trek that lasted for several days. In this one, his family manages to find him in Boston. Which is insane just to think about. I mean, yeah they took a lucky guess that he would be near a disaster, but it's Boston. I'm fairly confident than many many people need help there, so the odds of him being at a subway tunnel collapse just seems a bit forced. Which is why I rated it a four instead of a five.
I really used to love all of these Santa Paws stories, but rereading them as an adult makes me take a different perspective than I did when I was a kid. Although I still see the magic in the novels, certain things like a repeat storyline is going to bother me, where as a kid I would have just enjoyed the story.
March 15, 2013
This book was all right. It feels like the same thing is happening in each book: Santa Paws saves people and gets lost and the Callahans must find him. It wasn't bad, but the concept is starting to get old. Also, because each book is another Christmas, Gregory and Patricia get older each book. Gregory is 14 and Patricia is 15. They seem to be too old to be in a middle grade book. It obviously can't be YA though because of the reading level. It also ended abruptly. This book was still enjoyable enough. It isn't as good as the first four books though. If you are looking for a book to read at Christmas, this isn't a bad choice.
December 24, 2011
So my kids (3rd graders) voted this book up for our latest read-aloud. I had no books prior in the series. I found it to be dry, boring, and predictable. The language is all forced and not how real people would talk. They were squirmy and restless when I was reading it aloud. I wanted to abandon it, but there were some who enjoyed it. I should probably give it one more star because some of the kids enjoyed it, but there are just soooo many better books out there in the world. Don't waste your time on this one!
July 12, 2016
Another cute story in the Santa Paws series. What a wonderful dog he is, always trying to rescue people from harm! Even for an adult reader, it is quite amusing to see what kind of predicaments that Santa Paws gets in (or rather, gets his family into). This one involves quite an extensive visit to the hospital! --- just think of all the trouble and mishaps that lead up to that. I really did find myself laughing at certain situations that the dog would get into.
Great series that young readers will enjoy. (Makes a wonderful Christmas gift, for sure!)
Great series that young readers will enjoy. (Makes a wonderful Christmas gift, for sure!)
April 21, 2009
It was another fabulous Christmas for the Callahans. Santa paws is a big dog and Gregory is in the 9th grade. Santa paws and his family go on a trip to Boston for a vacation, and Boston has even more trouble than the town of Oceanport! He gets seperated again from the Callahans after rescuing a drowning boy, and he journies to find his family. If you read this book you'll know if he'll reunite with his family.
January 1, 2010
I love animal books and this was a good book. It showed that dogs are more than pets, they can be heros. Rescue dogs, rescue people everyday and this book tells the story of a dog who is in need of help but has the heart to put others needs before his own.
December 4, 2012
Read this to my children and they like it well enough. Of course, it was a little over the top with Santa Paws saving people all over town throughout the book. My kids like the super-hero dog though and it was enjoyable enough.
December 19, 2016
A good dog book. You don't need to have read any of the other books in the series for you to read this one. It's good, but the actual adventure part happens really, really quickly and probabl could have been more drawn out.
March 26, 2010
Cute story and really good.
May 19, 2010
This book was cute, and I adored it, can't wait til I read his others, because I still haven't read all in his series.
July 24, 2012
great book.glad I read it
December 6, 2014
A pretty quick Santa Paws read which I think was exactly what needed to happen. It was a really good length this time.
July 1, 2022
Exciting!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews