P.T. Grumbles

An illustrated children's Christmas story about a grouchy author, a surprise visit from Santa Claus, and a lost family found. P.T. Grumbles is a writer and critic who's finishing up a large round of interviews with "the most famous people in the world" for publication as a book. When he's nearly finished with the work, a young child of one of the interviewees asks him if he's going to include an interview with Santa. Grumbles is attracted to this idea and decides that it would be a...
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An illustrated children's Christmas story about a grouchy author, a surprise visit from Santa Claus, and a lost family found. P.T. Grumbles is a writer and critic who's finishing up a large round of interviews with "the most famous people in the world" for publication as a book. When he's nearly finished with the work, a young child of one of the interviewees asks him if he's going to include an interview with Santa. Grumbles is attracted to this idea and decides that it would be a fitting conclusion for his book. Although he despises the Christmas holiday - his adoptive parents always made it a miserable experience - he decorates his house to lure Santa in on Christmas Eve and request an exclusive. The plan works: Santa agrees to talk to Grumbles but says that the writer must travel with him on his gift-giving rounds. Along the way, Grumbles asks Santa questions about how he can possibly deliver presents to all the children in the world, how his reindeer can fly, and how Santa gets into homes that lack chimneys; however, the jolly old elf's answers are vague and mysterious. Soon, Santa asks Grumbles about his past and then enlists his help for a delivery - an event that changes the course of the writer's life forever!