The Gingerbread Pirates

When Jim and his mom bake gingerbread men on Christmas Eve, Jim says, "Let's make a pirate crew." The cookie pirates come out great, especially the one Jim names Captain Cookie, who has a big pirate hat, a gingerbread cutlass, and a toothpick peg leg. Jim leaves some of the gingerbread men out for Santa but can't bear to part with Captain Cookie, whom he places on his bedside table. When Jim falls asleep, Captain Cookie wakes up and wonders, "Where's my crew?" So the good captain sets off on an adventure down the stairs (which he thinks are cliffs), through the kitchen (where a mouse eats part of his cutlass), to the cookie jar (where his crew is "imprisoned"). But before he can rescue his crew, a huge man with a red hat and a white beard appears. Could this be the dreaded gingerbread-man-eater named Santa? Kids will delight in this funny holiday story. The surprise ending—in which Santa works a little holiday magic to help his new cookie friends—is sure to bring a smile to readers' faces.