‘THUD! The scales shifted instantly as the Naughty List hit the desk and sent the much lighter Nice List rocketing up towards the ceiling.’
The Christmasaurus and the Naughty List is the third book in the Christmasaurus series by Tom Fletcher. Like The Christmasaurus and The Winter Witch, this book is a fantasy adventure. (Click here to see the book review for the previous Chritmasaurus book.) This year the Naughty List is too heavy and threatens Christmas: no Nice Listers = no belief in Christmas + no presents to deliver = the end of Christmas! Can the Christmasaurus give the Naughty Listers a path to the Nice List? Will being a dinosaur help?
The Christmasaurus is my favourite character for a few reasons. In order to turn Naughty Listers nice, he is being naughty by stealing the Naughty List and interfering with who is naughty and nice. Also, he clearly laughs when people are scared of him. All the way through the story, the dinosaur has a wobbly tooth that he refuses to lose.
The main theme is becoming and being nice. When Princesses Truly and Utterly give away all their toys, Truly says it feels better to give than to receive. However, the difference between naughty and nice isn’t always clear. One example is Ronnie Nutbog stealing pocket money so that he can afford a replacement armchair for the one he broke that belongs to his granny. Therefore, he is trying to be nice but going about it the wrong way. Part of becoming nice is being granted second chances. The Christmasaurus is helping many Naughty Listers realise their mistakes: Gemolina Shine admits spoiling Dorothy Dorkins’ performances so she could get the solo in the school play and Ronnie Nutbog returns all the stolen pocket money. In response to Ronnie Nutbog’s actions, his classmates demonstrate forgiveness and buy the new rocking chair for him.
This story is set in a mostly real world with elements of fantasy, including an invisible snow ranch, singing elves and a flying dinosaur. Also, when a Naughty Lister turns nice, their name automatically vanishes from the Naughty List. The novel is set in a modern world, where one of the Naughty Listers gets obsessed with video games.
I prefer this book to the others in the series because The Christmasaurus and The Naughty List is about the dinosaur’s adventures. Meanwhile, The Christmasaurus, and The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch both follow William Trundle’s adventures.
Need a magical Christmas tale about the Naughty and Nice Lists for 6-year-olds and older? Read The Christmasaurus and the Naughty List!