The Christmasaurus

This is a cute book. My daughter (8) and I really enjoyed it. The storyline is creative and festive. It had a LOT of adorable bits of humor in it. He writes it to the reader which is great. There are some parts I am not so keen on that I feel warrant a warning here for some families- there lot of potty talk about Santa’s big bottom (he does sit on an egg after all). I felt like the way it was said was just to get laughs which my daughter appreciated but I felt we’re unnessary. I don’t really think books NEED to go there to be popular but a lot of modern authors disagree and of course it always gets laughs from kids. Not a deal breaker for sure but other parents or teachers might want to know. Also, the dinosaur is a boy- and the elves only rhyme so they knew he was a boy because of his “thingy” 😳. It wasn’t big deal to my daughter with little brothers but again, thought it deserved a heads up! There is also some violence. My daughter is very scared of stuff but it didn’t bother her. She is use to hunting so that aspect seemed normal I suppose. It is NOT for kids who have lost a parent either as the mother haas died, the dinosaur parents die, and something happens to the dad (who ends up fine). My daughter would recommend.

WARNING!!! This is not for little kids, and one of them gets killed!Now that I said that, here are some of the character in chronological order (more or less) —3. Exactly 64,321,031 years ago in the ice age, there were only two dinosaurs left. The Momosaurus and Dadlodocus died, but the dinosaur had an egg named EGG.10. William Trundle (our HERO) he loved dinosaurs (toys, books, etc.) and has a wheelchair (what a GREAT book idea).11. Mr. (Bob) Trundle: William’s Dad.24. There are 8 tiny elves (Elvis?), all of whose names start with letter “S”. And the 1st one is Snozzletrump. SnozzleTRUMP?!?!?! Oh my gosh. (Later on, you see SnozzleTRUMP has a handy Crumpet Consumption Graph! Cute! Is that the President, or what?)28. The EGG again and it lives in the North Pole (you know where).38. Santa, of course. He is humongous, enormous bottom, fatter than fat: Just an OVAL (like an EGG). I think he needs to lose weight [or else!].58. Finally, Santa hates the egg and names him The CHRISTMASAURUS!61. There are the Reindeer, of course, but they have NO NAMES. For me, I like“On, Lipstick! On, Dipstick! On, Pixie! On Dixie!, On, Kramden! On, Norton! On Alice! On, Trixie!”And how about the one I remember, Rudolph?69. Brenda (the?) Payne: The meanest girl in the whole school — possibly the WORLD. (Hint: Brenda throws a snowball like Babe Ruth or Sandy Koufax.)130. Santa made a stuffed dinosaur named STUFFY! with button eyes and great pictures! I’m in love! (Another “S”!)158. And then we see “The Hunter” (the man was EVIL) and his hound dog named Growler. (Is that Elvis Presley’s song “Hound Dog”?) Anyhow, The Hunter would shoot the rifle at the Reindeer (I hope not Santa), but that’s too easy even for Growler. And then he sees a real D-D-D-DINOSAUR? “And I MUST have his head on the wall! I’d go down in hunting history. I’d be ... the GREATEST HUNTER OF ALL TIMES.”Bang! BANG!! BANG!!! And who killed whom? GULP! A wonderful book, BUT not for little kids. O.K..P.S. — I found this book in 11 different languages (other than English, of course). Are there more?

This is SUCH a great book! It was recommended to us by a friend and I’ve been reading it aloud to my 6.5 and 5 year olds. They LOVE it! They look forward to breakfast each morning when I read to them as they eat (and beg for more chapters through the day). It’s a highlight for them! A well written story, captivating for kiddos, and has some great lessons/talking points for parents (kindness, different abilities, everyone’s uniqueness being special, etc). Would definitely recommend as a gift for reading aloud to early readers or for higher leveled elementary readers👌🏼

My 7yr old LOVED reading this book! We wanted to start moving from Christmas themed picture books to chapter books and this was perfect. Just the right kind of silly humor for a 7yr old without being crude. I'm sure we'll read it year after year.

This is a very long but entertaining chapter book. It has a few pictures sprinkled throughout the book but even without the pictures, it keeps my 5 year old entertained. We've been reading a couple of chapters every night. I am pretty sure we will be reading it again next year.

My kids are 5.5 and 4 and they love it, and so do I! We are only about a quarter of the way through so far but I had to write a review bc we are really enjoying it!

My 8 year old loved this story. He has already read it multiple times. I didnt read it but I got the synopsis from him. It seems like a cute and creative read.

All illustration is in black and white. My grandkids love to be read chapter books with me but the illustrations were a disappointment.

it is a good book it kept me interested and engaged, however I would only recommend this book for 8+ since some of the context in this book is not only tragic and sad, it is mocked by a very rude bully. I felt that the bully character Brenda goes too far with her cruel taunts such as wheely William sitting in a chair.....He can't even stand. Some of the theme in this book like a death of a mother which is again mocked by the bully is unsuitable for some younger readers.

10/10When I heard that my favourite musician from my favourite band, Tom Fletcher from McFly, was writing his first novel I was so excited. When I found out it was a Christmas novel I was super excited. When it was revealed that the main character would be a wheelchair user, I was over the moon and desperate to read it! I grabbed a copy as soon as it was released and I was not disappointed!William Trundle is a 10-year-old wheelchair user who is obsessed with dinosaurs. He lives happily with his dad Bob, until one day Brenda Payne, the meanest girl in the whole school (possibly the world!) joins his class and turns William’s life upside down. For the first time ever, William feels very different from his friends and he becomes miserable. Little does he know that far away in the North Pole is a lonely dinosaur called the Christmasaurus who also feels very different. On Christmas Eve, the two cross paths in the most unexpected way, leading them to embark on the adventure of a lifetime and build a friendship that will change them both forever.The Christmasaurus is a joy to read. Tom talks to the reader directly, and uses lots of fun description and silly Roald Dahl inspired language like ‘kickerbashed and knockerboshed.’ In fact, Santa’s elves singing in rhyme reminded me of the Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! There are loads of laugh-out-loud moments to amuse small kids and big kids alike. The enchanting illustrations and brilliant writing make it so easy to get lost in the story. I felt like I was actually eating Cosmos Converting Candy Canes and drinking North Star-bucks in the North Pole Snow Ranch!Not only is The Christmasaurus well-written, it also captures what it’s like to be a wheelchair user perfectly. William is an ordinary boy doing normal stuff like going to school and playing with friends. On the other hand, he has experiences unique to being a wheelchair user, like needing help to pick up a dropped pencil or running over people’s feet on a semi-regular basis! I could relate to him so much; he reminded me of me when I was at school!I was most impressed by how the book addresses the way that wheelchair users can be treated negatively because of their disability, and the feelings this can evoke like sadness, loneliness and guilt. This is so important, because there aren’t many wheelchair users in books, TV and films, so if you don’t have any other friends who are wheelchair users, it can seem like you are the only person to feel this way. The Christmasaurus reminds wheelchair users that they are not alone and emphasises that their lives and stories are just as important as those of non-disabled people.As well as being full of fun and magic, The Christmasaurus is action-packed. I was thrilled to see so much danger and suspense throughout the book. These moments kept me hooked, but they also show that wheelchair users can be action heroes too. I wish I could be as clever and as daring as William in scary situations; he is amazing!One thing I would like to see in Tom’s future novels (of which I hope there will be many) is more women and girl main characters. There is only one in The Christmasaurus and although girls will definitely still enjoy this book, they deserve stories with more of their own heroes and role models too!Overall, The Christmasaurus is an outstanding novel with a key message about the importance of friendship and family, celebrating difference and believing in yourself. It is an incredible step forward in the representation of wheelchair users in children’s books, educating a new generation about disability. I hope that many more authors will follow Tom’s lead.The Christmasaurus is a wonderfully warm festive treat for readers young and not so young. Whoever you are, I highly recommend that you ask Santa to pop a copy in your stocking this Christmas Eve!

Dinosaur-loving William Trundle is having a tough time at school so he writes to Santa. A magical story about hopes, dreams and friendship that kept us entertained throughout and left us smiling. I read this with Daniel (8) and Joshua (6) as our Christmas bedtime story, after my Year 5's recommended it. It's easy to read, often using super-long sentences and lots of description, so would be suited to lower key stage 2. However, even Joshua was enthralled by the plot and enjoyed guessing what was going to happen next, as well as retelling the funny parts of the story to anyone who would listen. I loved that the main character uses a wheelchair and that this is addressed throughout, points for diversity. Five stars from both myself and the boys.

Yes, I bought this book because of who the author is. But I also bought this book because of the gorgeous cover, and because it was getting close to December and I wanted to have a Christmassy book to read.I absolutely adore Tom's writing style and his world-building is simply stunning. I found myself laughing and crying, and cheering William on throughout the whole book.The Christmasaurus is such a cute, fluffy and heart-warming read, perfect for reading around Christmas. I cannot wait to see what other things Fletcher will produce, and I know that I will be buying anything else he writes.

All of Tom’s books are amazing, me and my little boy love reading them all together (:This one is exceptionally WOW, the magic of the Christmasaurus is real - the story, the illustration, the production that was done on stage. This is one of them books that you can read over and over every Christmas and it would make an incredible movie! We have since brought the winter witch and more of the books by Tom that have been released since we brought this one years ago. The attached photo is one I took in 2017 of our collection at the time..There should be no doubt in your mind to buy any of Toms books - they are the best...he & Dougie are without a doubt the favourite authors in our house (: