OK, it’s time for a little make believe. I’d ask you to close your eyes, but I know that will make reading the rest of this 
fairly difficult. Imagine it’s Christmas morning and you just noticed that your stocking is filled to the brim with goodies. Upon closer inspection, you notice that it’s not just any random gift. Santa has stuffed your stocking with books upon books. It truly is a merry Christmas.
Everyone makes their own personal Santa. One Santa would only ever bring candy and never socks. Another Santa would leave the sweets at home and fill up the stocking with silly little knick knacks. In my imagination, Santa stuffs as many books as possible in my stocking. The question is, how well does Santa know your personal reading tastes? Below are several of our favorite holiday characters. Let’s see what books Santa stuffed in their stockings.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Rudolph’s story is a familiar one. I mean, the basics of his life are squeezed into a song. Aside from the magical ability to fly and his glowing nose, Rudolph’s story is about trying to fit in when others make you feel like an outcast. This is a common theme in many teen books. Rudolph would definitely enjoy science fiction stories that include other characters with powers. For example, I guarantee there were
several “X-Men” graphic novels. Who wouldn’t want to relate their issues with the issues of superheroes? In addition to the “X-Men” graphic novels, I bet Santa would throw in the “Maximum Ride” series by James Patterson, starting with The Angle Experiment. Similarly to the X-Men, Patterson’s books are about kids with powers that would normally exclude them. Instead, these powers bring the kids together. Who could forget about Harry Potter? Harry Potter spends his whole life up to the age of ten thinking that he wasn’t as good as the other kids. Then he discovers in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling that he is actually more special than his rude family. Also, just like Rudolph and his reindeer friends, Harry gets to do the same things as the other wizards, but still must deal with being treated different. Rudolph’s nose will always glow and Harry’s scar will always remind people that he was not killed by He Who Must Not Be Named. Of course, let’s not forget the parallels between Rudolph’s relationship to Santa and Harry’s relationship with Dumbledore. The similarities are definitely there. Obviously, Rudolph will have quite a few books to read in the time before next Christmas.
Frosty the Snowman – Frosty’s story, also explained quite extensively through a song, reminds me a a ghost story. He can only stay for a short time and then the story is over. That being said, if I were Santa, I would stick a few ghost stories in Frosty’s stocking. First, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (a 2012 Teens’ Top Ten pick) would definitely be stuck in there. The kids aren’t exactly ghosts, but like Frosty, their existence is short-lived and dependent on outside 
factors beyond their control. On the lighter side of subjects, I also believe that Frosty would love fairy tales. Magic is the reason that he was able to play that day and a few books that focus on magic would be right up his alley. While this can skew a bit younger, I could see Santa bringing Frosty The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer. This story includes several magical items that allow the siblings to travel to the fairy tale world as well as grant them the ability to go back home. Finally, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev. This story includes magical creatures, cursed items, and life on the stage. It’s my impression of Frosty that believes he would love all things theatrical, all the time.
The Grinch – Continuing on with characters with their own songs, I felt I needed to include The Grinch in this post. What do you get the guy who hates everything? Santa knows! The Grinch likes all things gross and rotting. Of course Santa would bring him all the zombie books he could carry! That is, if Santa can find The Grinch’s stocking under all of the garbage in his house. Even the cover of Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Mayberry screams Grinch. The eye on
the cover is the perfect shade of Grinch green. In this story, Benny works as a zombie hunter. Cue the revolting display of zombie dismemberment. In addition to Mayberry’s series, Santa would also sneak in Zom-B by Darren Shan. Shan is no light-weight when it comes to the horrid, puss-filled zombie descriptions that fill the pages. In this story, B is trying to survival the zombie attack any way he can. In addition to the books by Mayberry and Shan, The Grinch would also enjoy The Enemy by Charlie Higson. Finally, Santa would be remiss to leave out “The Walking Dead” graphic novel series by Robert Kirkman. Knowing The Grinch, I wouldn’t be surprised if he rooted for the zombies instead of the survivors.
It’s true that some might balk of the selection for The Grinch, stating that Santa is all about happy and cuddly things. I wholeheartedly disagree. Who’s to say that Santa wouldn’t want a little zombie apocalypse once in a while.
So there you have it! There’s a book for everyone and Santa knows what to bring you. What books did Santa bring you this year?
-Brandi Smits, currently reading My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins