A Boy Called Christmas
by Matt Haig
- New
- Hardcover
- Condition
- New
- ISBN 10
- 178211789X
- ISBN 13
- 9781782117896
- Seller
-
Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom
2 Copies Available from This Seller
(You can add more at checkout.)
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Hardback. New. The first magical book in the festive series, from number one bestselling author Matt Haig, and featuring enchanting illustrations from Chris Mould
Reviews
On Feb 22 2022, CloggieDownunder said:
A Boy Called Christmas is a Middle-grade children's book by British author, Matt Haig. Eleven-year-old Nikolas lives with his father, Joel, a poor, hard-working woodcutter, in a one-room hut in remote Finland. When King Frederik offers a twelve-thousand-ruble reward for proof of the existence of the fabled elf village, Elfhelm, Joel and six men from the nearby village decide the trek to the Far North will be worth it.
Nikolas is left in the care of his nasty aunt, Carlotta, and that soon goes awry, so Nikolas decides to follow Joel. His mouse Miika, having also been ejected from the hut by the cruel aunt, tags along. It's no easy journey, trekking through the snow with hardly any food and no shelter. But when they are attacked by an angry reindeer, things improve. Until they don't, and Nikolas, Miika and Blitzen (the reindeer) almost freeze to death.
It's elf magic that brings them back, but the people of Elfhelm are no longer their usual font of goodwill and joy. An elf boy has been kidnapped by a band of men, so humans are no longer welcome. In fact, Nikolas end up imprisoned with a murderous troll and a pixie who never lies but likes to explode heads. And Nikolas has only even had good intentions….
The excitement follows with a magical escape marred by an axe and arrows, a faithful reindeer, and then a discovery about Joel that dismays Nikolas deeply. A daring rescue and some fast talking later sees Nikolas looked up to for more than his height in Elfhelm.
From there the story explains how Nikolas becomes Father Christmas, and sometimes Santa Claus, and there are lots of little incidents that give background to various Christmas traditions. While the recent movie of the same title is based on this book and follows it reasonably well, Blitzen's pranks don't make it to the screen, and Nikolas's nemesis turns into a screechy female elf for added screen drama. Haig packs in lots of wisdom and feel-good thoughts: "Perhaps a wish was just a hope with better aim." Haig's highly original tale is enhanced with charming illustrations by Chris Mould. Utterly delightful!!
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Details
- Bookseller
- The Saint Bookstore (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- A9781782117896
- Title
- A Boy Called Christmas
- Author
- Matt Haig
- Format/Binding
- Hardback
- Book Condition
- New New
- Quantity Available
- 2
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 178211789X
- ISBN 13
- 9781782117896
- Publisher
- Canongate Books Ltd
- Place of Publication
- London
- This edition first published
- 2015
Terms of Sale
The Saint Bookstore
Refunds or Returns: A full refund of the price paid will be given if returned within 30 days in undamaged condition. If the product is faulty, we may send a replacement.
About the Seller
The Saint Bookstore
Biblio member since 2018
Southport, Merseyside
About The Saint Bookstore
The Saint Bookstore specialises in hard to find titles & also offers delivery worldwide for reasonable rates.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...