Gloria is an oddball at Madame Pestilence's Academy for Young Goblins and Witches: Her spells don't work, and she keeps smiling, even while eating cockroach casserole. Then she meets an angel, declares herself a Christmas Witch, and is dispatched to make peace on a distant planet. After Gloria tricks the two warring factions into mingling at a costume ball, they sheepishly agree to study war no more. Though treacly and unbelievable, the story is built around the theme of waging peace, and it does feature Kellogg's deliciously dramatic illustrations—including a memorable sequence when Madame Pestilence sweeps operatically into the midst of the assembled multitudes and is reduced to a bug by Christmas magic. Worthy, but the parts are better than the whole. (Picture book. 8-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-8037-1268-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1992
Centers on a cute, evergreen premise but suffers from minimal character development.
Some say that Christmas is the happiest time of year—but that’s not true for Jordan and Stevie Clementine.
The 10-year-old fraternal twins face yet another fractured holiday with not even a Christmas tree in sight. Their parents, born Billy Clement and Sam Valentine, dated briefly but never married and, as friends, have raised the girls, even taking on their melded last name. The sisters dream of a Christmas with all four Clementines together, singing carols and playing games, but musician Billy is on tour much of the year, and community center director Sam is especially busy with work around the holidays. The white-presenting girls spend each Christmas with their dad in the shabby family-owned motel, along with their uncle, aunt, and 15-year-old cousin (who ruined last Christmas by revealing the truth about Santa). This year, Stevie and Jordan hatch plans to get their parents to remember past happy Christmases and want to spend the holiday together. Fortuitously for the twins, a flood from a burst pipe at the local dog shelter brings dogs to the motel—leading cynophobic Billy and the girls to stay with Sam. The snowy, small-town Saskatchewan setting feels authentic, with many cultural details that add interest; however, the girls’ dual narrations are difficult to distinguish despite their opposite and rather one-note personalities and the supporting cast is similarly two-dimensional. Musician Quin’s solo debut, a series opener, features festive spot art by Ollerton.
Centers on a cute, evergreen premise but suffers from minimal character development. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9780374392345
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In a snowbound Swiss village, Matti figures it’s a good day to make a gingerbread man. He and his mother mix a batch of gingerbread and tuck it in the oven, but Matti is too impatient to wait ten minutes without peeking. When he opens the door, out pops a gingerbread baby, taunting the familiar refrain, “Catch me if you can.” The brash imp races all over the village, teasing animals and tweaking the noses of the citizenry, until there is a fair crowd on his heels intent on giving him a drubbing. Always he remains just out of reach as he races over the winterscape, beautifully rendered with elegant countryside and architectural details by Brett. All the while, Matti is busy back home, building a gingerbread house to entice the nervy cookie to safe harbor. It works, too, and Matti is able to spirit the gingerbread baby away from the mob. The mischief-maker may be a brat, but the gingerbread cookie is also the agent of good cheer, and Brett allows that spirit to run free on these pages. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-399-23444-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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