The Santa Trap
Greedy boy tries to capture Santa in funny, offbeat tale.
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Santa Trap is a funny Christmas story about Bradley, a selfish little boy who sets a trap for Santa Claus so he can steal all the gifts Santa's carrying on his sleigh. The little boy is a model of badness, but don't worry: he gets his in the end. There's one big explosion but the results are comic, with Bradley being shot out of his house onto the snow and running into the menacing tigers he had intended to attack Santa.
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What's the Story?
Bradley Bartleby is a bad little boy who was born bad. He's selfish and greedy, and every year his wealthy father hires a team of secretaries to type up Bradley's huge Christmas list for Santa Claus. Santa knows Bradley's naughty, so he brings him only a pair of socks every year. Following the last Christmas, Bradley spends the whole year booby-trapping his chimney and living room with everything from rockets, dynamite, and cannons to live tigers -- all to trap Santa and demand every present he's carrying on his sleigh. Things do not go as planned, and Santa triumphs once again.
Is It Any Good?
THE SANTA TRAP is an offbeat, funny Christmas story with as much of a moral lesson as more heartwarming yuletide fare but a lot more laughs. The expressive, cartoon-like illustrations show Bradley's many moods -- from angry and frustrated to mean, nasty, and diabolical -- as he methodically sets his trap. Readers get to see a little kid take charge (his parents move into a hotel when the house becomes too dangerous) but will delight in seeing him get his comeuppance. It's wonderfully different holiday book both kids and parents will enjoy.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about making a Christmas gift list. What's reasonable and what seems too greedy?
How does The Santa Trap compare with other Christmas stories you've read or seen in a movie?
Does Bradley learn anything by the end of the story?
Book Details
- Author: Jonathan Emmett
- Illustrator: Poly Bernatene
- Genre: Holiday
- Topics: Holidays
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
- Publication date: October 1, 2012
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 32
- Available on: Paperback, Hardback
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
Our Editors Recommend
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How the Grinch Stole Christmas
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The Muppet Christmas Carol
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For kids who love the holidays
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