A Christmas Surprise

Magic Kitten #15

by Sue Bentley, Angela Swan (Illustrator), Andrew Farley (Illustrations)

Molly is so excited to spend Christmas with her family. . . she can?t wait for the snow, food, and presents! But Molly just can?t seem to keep herself out of trouble. Luckily, she finds a distraction in Flame, the snow white kitten. With his magical help, it looks like Molly may get the best Christmas present ever!

Genres: Christmas, Childrens, Animals, Magic, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Holiday

117 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2007

About the author

Sue was born in Northampton where she still lives. For many years she worked for Northamptonshire libraries and remains a passionate supporter of Public Libraries. Sue loves everything about books, the feel of them, their smell. the way they look. And has a habit of matching a bookmark to the cover of each book she's reading. The process of reading, the feel of the book, carrying it around in her shoulder bag, sitting in favourite cafes reading all make for a complete sensory experience.
Browsing bookshops old and new, talking all things bookish with other book lovers, spending time with other writers and meeting with fans of her own books at author events are her favourite things. That and eating good quality dark chocolate, while writing.

Reviews

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story quite a bit, but was disappointed that, while the girl's story is lovely, the cat's story isn't resolved. Seemed to need a resolution ... perhaps that is is another book of the series?

[Rosa Ramôa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miau...Miau...Miau*

Os gatos marcam o seu território com a urina!!!
(algo tão natalício)

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 8 year old daughter and me read these books together and she loves them! These our one of her favorite chapter books and she can't wait to read the next one! It's magical, funny, and sincere all at the same time! The star raitings on these always come from my daughter! I personally loved the Christmas theme and the mention of Jesus being the reason for the season! ❤️💒💚

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this on a sick day when I was in elementary school. Very cute. Seeing the cover alone brings back memories.

[Melissa Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. I enjoyed it. Wish it could of ended differently but it was still good

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book for three reasons:

1. Kittens
2. Christmas
3. Middle Grade Fantasy

The kitten scenes were cute, but not altogether reflective of cat behavior. However, Flame is a magical cat, so I suppose he could find amusement in sled riding, and hanging out in a back pack.

The Christmas feel of the book was definitely on par with my idea of Christmas. I enjoyed the baking, knitting, shopping, and snow scenes.

This really wasn’t middle grade. I’m not sure it’s supposed to be. It’s a good book for second, or third graders. It touches on issues relevant to young children, like snowball fights gone wrong, and being blamed for something you didn’t do.

The story behind Flame wasn’t fleshed out at all - so I’m guessing his story is continued in other books of this series.

There was nothing wrong with this book, if you want a simple story. However, if you are looking for something with more depth and meaning, look elsewhere.

[Kathryn Watters · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had a touch of a Lion King vibe. My 9 year old really enjoyed the book when I read it to him. He wants the entire series.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story but the ending seemed abrupt.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Cute little chapter book.

[Adrienne Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute book! My 5 year old loved it!

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story with a very abrupt ending. Flame was a very cute kitten.

[Chelsea May xxx · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a cute little book. Great for children xx

[Rachel Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story that held Ezra’s attention.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son loves all things cats and has enjoyed this series. He loved this Christmas story. The ending could have been written better.

[Louise Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 year old daughter says “amazing, amazing book! It’s a Christmas book and I love it!”

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can not properly rate this book as it was written for small children and I am obviously a full grown adult. So it gets 5 stars

[Debbie Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with my 7 year old granddaughter on FaceTime. We each read a page taking turns back and forth. She loved the story and did well with the read aloud style.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cluttering my goodreads one kitten book at a time.

7yo - a billion stars
Me - meh

Settled on 4 stars

[Fatima!]

Cute.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and all of Molly and Flame’s adventures. The story ended very abruptly.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note as of 08/28/21

I read a lot of the books in this series as a child and I loved them! I'd say good books for third - fifth graders depending on reading level.

(having gotten a Goodreads account as a child, I added a lot of the books I read back then to my list - I have ultimately decided to keep them on my shelves because I like seeing my reading history)

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a fun book to read at Christmas time. I wish the author would have included Flame's fight against Uncle Elbony.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute story.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 6yr old and I read these together and she absolutely adores them. So far her favourite has been "a new friend" with comet. She's crazy about horses and crazy about these little novels.

[A.L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Derivative, unimaginative pap. My eight year old loved it.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

really really good "own"

[Savira Lubis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flame is so adorable, their friendship is so sweet. Very cute story. If I have a daughter or son, I must read this with them.

[Cathy Hodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

In fairness to this book, I jumped into the middle of this series. The magic parts were fun, but it was not a very interesting story. Molly really needed the magic help. Maybe skip this one.

[Samira · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very nice story

[Shawna Hufendick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decently cute, but the ending left so many unanswered questions that even my 1st and 3rd graders were annoyed by the abrupt end.