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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
A nice Christmas folktale picture book about Santa Claus' little-known twin sister, who is a witch! I was expecting this to be a funny book, but actually it's quite serious and kind of sad. Kristtörn is Kristoffer's sister, and she feels doubly abandoned by him: first as kids when he is adopted by the Kringle family and taken to live in Scandinavia, leaving her to be raised by a woodland witch, and then as adults when she finally tracks him down only to realize he chooses his vocation of delivering gifts at Christmas over her. It's an interesting concept, that she's scorned as a witch for doing magic (healing wounded animals for example) while her brother's magic is cheered all around the world. The illustrations are lovely, very detailed gouache paintings.
Lots of pagan elements in this story. However, the witch is rejected by all, including her twin brother, which makes the ending very sad.
The illustrations were gorgeous and I always appreciate it when people take the time to tell new and creative Christmas stories. That said, I felt this story had a mixed and slightly depressing message. And while that is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, my personal preference would have been for the story to have a more hopeful conclusion. I enjoyed the story, but this is probably not one I would add to my Christmas collection.
This was a beautiful Christmas book! I absolutely adored it.
- Text heavy for a picture book (more appropriate for lower middle grades if independent reading)
- Illustrations are gouache & digital media; witch-y & cottage-core style
I wonder if this comes from a real legend? Or if the author created this one all by herself. Either way, this was a lovely storybook. I may be an adult, but I can't deny myself the simple pleasures of reading a heartwarming children's book. And I needed a good Christmas book to get me into the spirit. This one, I must say, is considerably lighter than the one I read last year. And my writer's heart kept coming up with fantastical ideas of what this story might be like if it were aimed at adults...and darker. But this is not a book for adults; it's for children. As such, it's going to be light, whimsical, and beautiful. And I'm absolutely okay with that because truly, I did love it.
The illustrations in this book were lovely. They kept me riveted from the start. In fact, that's what made me buy the book to start with. Additionally, the concept sounded so unique. I love witches, I love Christmas, and I love legends. Naturally, this was a match made in heaven. The concept was well done and didn't drag on. The ending took me by surprise and made me yearn for more. While some of the characters were familiar and others were not, they appealed to me for many different reasons. Especially our protagonist, the Christmas Witch. And those penguins were a brilliant touch. Because I kind of have a thing for penguins now. There was a certain earthiness to our witch's powers that intrigued me, and the words the author used were strung together excellently.
All in all, I have nothing but good things to say about this book.
The illustrations in this book were lovely. They kept me riveted from the start. In fact, that's what made me buy the book to start with. Additionally, the concept sounded so unique. I love witches, I love Christmas, and I love legends. Naturally, this was a match made in heaven. The concept was well done and didn't drag on. The ending took me by surprise and made me yearn for more. While some of the characters were familiar and others were not, they appealed to me for many different reasons. Especially our protagonist, the Christmas Witch. And those penguins were a brilliant touch. Because I kind of have a thing for penguins now. There was a certain earthiness to our witch's powers that intrigued me, and the words the author used were strung together excellently.
All in all, I have nothing but good things to say about this book.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Aubrey Plaza one of my favourite actresses and now she has written a book! I was really looking forward to this and imaged this to be really magical with a hint of creepiness. I know this is a childrens book, but I think I needed more magic and more creepiness, there didn't actually seem to be any magic, and I found it odd that her brother would just go off without her considering how close they were. Good first attempt but this wasn't a stand out for me
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Much more ominous ending than I expected. A quirky insertion into the Christmas myth, telling the story of Kris Kringle's long lost sister.