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The Christmas Genie

Could a genie imprisoned in a meteorite possibly fly through the window of a fifth-grade classroom? Of course not, but it’s fun to imagine, and even more fun in the hands of Dan Gutman. In The Christmas Genie, that fifth-grade class is granted one wish—not one each, but one total. What follows may be an excuse for a lesson in “be careful what you wish for,” but at least it’s an entertaining lesson. All the money in the world? The economy would collapse, and it would do you no good. Cars that run on water? Water is scarce, too. Peace on earth? Even that, apparently, comes with a few drawbacks (a little implausibly, but what’s an author to do in the space of a few pages?). Characterization is a little lacking—there are too many students to do much—but the plot moves well, and there’s plenty of humor. Any middle grader would be pleased to find this quick read in his or her stocking.

  • Fear Factor: (Funny, not scary, is the theme here.)
  • Heart: (Again, we’re going for humor, not heart, and there’s no sweet ending, either. But there is a nice moment when one student wishes her parents would get back together and everyone realizes they have family wishes.)
  • Attitude: (These fifth graders have some attitude, calling one another “stupid” and offering to use a wish to better the world by making one disappear. The teacher’s attempts to insist on respect generally fail.)
  • Psst: Ending the book with a kid accidentally making the genie’s wish for him was a let-down, but that’s the peril of all wish stories—the author can’t really grant the wish.
  • If you like this: Dan Gutman has a whole shelf’s worth of other light options, like The Homework Machine, wherein nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

KJ Dell'Antonia Former Manhattan lawyer and prosecutor, parent of four. Lover of books and bacon.

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