A Christmas Tradition

For the last several Christmas seasons, I have taken the time to get stacks of Christmas books out of the library and then read them with relish. Growing up I was an avid reader. After I got married, there was just never enough time to lose myself in books.



I guess I started early this year. A few weeks ago, I was perusing the children's section for novels for C* when I came across "The Legend of Holly Claus" by Brittney Ryan. (Illustrations by Laurel Long)




What a book!



It had parts of Sleeping Beauty in the setting of Narnia with the moral dichotomy of Les Miserables. Think of Characters like Mr. Darcy and Pollyanna. Mix together the magic of Hogwarts and the timeless thrill of Christmas and you have a superb story filled with adventure, amusement, choices and love.



At first reading, it seemed to start off slow. But perhaps that was just me or my mood on that particular day. But after getting into the book, I read and read...b/c I wanted to hear the ending.



The writing was wonderfully descriptive... not only of the lovely and good but of the spectacular and rotten. There were a good number of illustrations rendered in the style of the period that kept your imagination going.



I'm so glad that I stumbled upon this book.