Humbug: the Elf who Saved Christmas

by Steven Butler

 

‘Funny, original and moving’ The Sun ‘Pick of the Week’ December 2022

The perfect festive story for readers aged 8 to 8,888! Meet the HUMBUG Family!

Christmas Elves, but not as we know them...

The Humbugs aren't the kind of family you see on sparkly wrapping paper, or in snowy storybooks about Santa's grotto. You won't see them on the front of Christmas cards, and they definitely won't be knitted on your grandma's favourite festive jumper. Those happy scenes are only for the likes of the workshop elves and certainly not the Humbugs.

Nope! They manage a much less glamorous part of Santa's factory, the RPD Department... That's Reindeer Poo Disposal to you and me. YUCK!

But when a mince-pie-related-mishap combined with an unfortunate letter-losing-incident sees them exiled from their home, the Humbugs - together with their clumsy Reindeer, Blister, and wheelie-bin sleigh - go on a great and daring adventure, where they discover the true meaning of Christmas, and the real heroes who make it special!

"A perfect Christmas stocking present - a very funny, festive page-turner." - Jacqueline Wilson, author of The Story of Tracy Beaker

"Humbug is that rare funny, original, thought-provoking, and an instant classic." - Francesca Simon, author of Horrid Henry

"An exquisite Christmas story, full of imagination and heart. For the whole family to read year-after-year!" - Amy Huberman, author of The Day I Got Trapped In My Brain

"You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll need a mince pie - a new Christmas classic!" - Steven Lenton, author and illustrator of Genie and Teeny

A hilarious, huge-hearted hug of a book; perfect for all ages. For fans of Matt Haig , The Christmasaurus , and Elf on the Shelf . With a touching and thought-provoking message to key-workers who tirelessly toil behind-the-scenes to make everyone's lives better.

Genres: Christmas, Childrens

Kindle Edition

First published October 12, 2022

About the author

Steven is the award-winning author of the Nothing To See Here Hotel series (winner of the Sainsbury's Fiction Prize; shortlisted for the Laugh-Out-Loud "Lollies" award and Alligator's Mouth award; featured on W.H Smith's Tom Fletcher Bookclub), The Wrong Pong series (shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize), his new adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey for Hachette's Awesomely Austen series, and his comedy collaboration with American author, James Patterson, the Dog Diaries series.

Reviews

[Nadja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't really say why, but I didn't find this book as charming as everyone else. Mostly boring and really on the nose with the message it conveys. However, I cannot deny that the story is quite different from what you would expect. It was okay to read once, but nothing I would ever read again.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was really cute story, loved it and was really funny.

[Tami Wylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent Christmas read for kids (and adults)! I loved how the Humbug family went on a holiday and discovered what human Christmas was like. I also liked the way the North Pole was shown in a different light; where everything was not all perfect and jolly. It was more like the real world. The elves escaping in a skip pulled by a reindeer was brilliant! I loved Nana! She was my favourite character of all. I highly recommend this for a great read for Christmas.

[Manic Booksy Dreamgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful story! Full of the festive spirit with a lovely message. It had me chucking loads and I absolutely loved the illustrations.

[Janette Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a lovely story for little children and a very good for a bedtime story for mum and dad to read to the children

[LudmilaM · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Very imaginative writing style and very funny.

[Alice Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it well it ok 4 out of 5⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas elf Gristle Humbug and his family are exiled from the North Pole after Gristle and his sister Scratchet steal and eat a forbidden mince pie. The hierarchy at Santa’s village is such that reindeer poo dispersers like Gristle’s family are the lowest of the low. But after Gristle & his sister find a stray letter addressed to Santa they decide to go on an adventure to England to see how humans celebrate Christmas and find the letter-writer herself. - I found this book a really fun read. I thought it took a little while to get going but when it did the adventures came thick & fast. This story had heart and I really enjoyed it.

[Kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read for the festive season. It had some great humour in it, similar to David Walliams’. I loved reading about all the characters and the story was a joy to read. I had never heard of the author before and I’m glad I picked it up. The illustrations helped the story in places too.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5