A ribbon tie adds an additional touch of class to this handsome, informative gift item.
Going back over his diaries, the jolly old elf himself presents an omnium-gatherum of Christmastime lore, customs, history, literature, fond memories and personal notes.
The text opens with an appreciation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and closes with the full text of Clement Clarke Moore’s renowned verses (though without addressing the controversy of their authorship). In between, the loquacious memoirist wanders over the holiday map with disquisitions on elves, reindeer and seasonal foods; activities from snow festivals and winter sports to his own summer vacations; references to Christmas films and music; recipes for gingerbread and other treats; a tally of international alter egos and selected aw-shucks requests from children met in “grottos” all over the world. Santa’s narrative, printed in an elegant if not particularly legible script, comes decorated with headers in, often, silver ink, painted scenes both new and old, two big sparkly pop-ups and over a dozen detachable artifacts ranging from a real sixpence and a paper crown to an elf’s union card and an instructional booklet for sleigh drivers. Along with full measures of holiday spirit, readers will come away with answers to such common questions as what Santa does with all the “tipple” left out for him (he recycles it into “a jolly useful biofuel” with a spell) and how reindeer can fly (hint: methane emissions).
A ribbon tie adds an additional touch of class to this handsome, informative gift item. (dedicated website with full-page images) (Novelty. 8-12, adult)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-988-15126-5-9
Page Count: 96
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
An accessible and funny morality tale that’s useful reading for work-obsessed parents as well as their children.
Veteran British children’s author Rosen gives a new twist to an old tale.
Eleven-year-old Harry Gruber has been cast as Scrooge in his school’s production of A Christmas Carol. The script of the play, based on Dickens’ classic, is interspersed with Harry’s thoughts and observations while he is performing the role. Harry’s parents and sister are in the audience, and all is going well until his workaholic dad decides that he cannot ignore a business call and abruptly walks out of the play. Ray Gruber’s dash to his office and his obsession with his business, to the exclusion of his family’s wants and needs, are skillfully mirrored with scenes in the play. In being a negligent parent, Gruber is Scrooge-like, in actions as well as behavior. A conversation with a business colleague starts to make him aware that his behavior is undesirable, and his recollections of his deprived childhood and his resentment of it make him realize the error of his ways. Scrooge’s revelations are paralleled by the growth of Ray’s personal awareness. To his family’s delight, he returns at the end of the play and turns from “the ogre of the family” to a good dad who applauds Harry’s performance. Harry and his family are white; both Harry’s classmates and Gruber’s business colleagues reflect a multicultural world.
An accessible and funny morality tale that’s useful reading for work-obsessed parents as well as their children. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0479-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Walker US/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
Serviceable scariness for series seekers.
A weekend getaway takes a hairy turn when a full moon invites werewolves to play.
Twelve-year-old Max Bloodnight is wary of meeting his grandparents for the first time and staying with them alone. They live in a dilapidated log cabin in the middle of the forest in Wolf County, which means no cell service and no electricity. But meeting the grandparents also means getting closer to Max’s late father, who died in a mysterious hunting accident in the area. Max’s grandparents only have one rule in their house: “Don’t cross the barbed wire fence into the eastern forest.” Max quickly breaks this rule when he helps Jade Howler, his grandparents’ young neighbor, search for her missing dog. The forest proves to be as monstrous as his grandparents warned. Can Max learn the truth about his father and the disappearances in Wolf County, or will he become the next to vanish? More Scooby Doo mystery than bone-chilling horror, Reynolds’ debut series entry is a fast-paced, cliffhanger-heavy creature feature. Thanks to plenty of carefully laid clues, discerning readers will solve the mystery long before Max does. The predictable, trope-filled plot and medium scare factor offer nothing new but may appeal to the Goosebumps crowd. A stand-alone sequel that stars a different main character, The Halloweeners, publishes simultaneously. The cast assumes a white default; Max is vegetarian.
Serviceable scariness for series seekers. (Horror. 8-12)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-286935-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
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