TOO MANY WORDS.5 star art, 1.5 star plot. I loved the visuals but there were just too many words. And the story was very weird and ill-plotted. There was sort of a climax really early on (sort of) and then it just sorted farted around until it finished. I was very very interested in this series because of the Rise of the Guardians movie (WHICH I LOVED), but this was not a good picture book. It might work better as more of an intermediate read, but even so the plot was all over the place. A charming book. While the morality it espouses would be familiar to anyone grounded in the tales it adopts, the telling is a bit more interesting, as Joyce is attempting to not just reinvent the traditional heroes of holidays, but knit them into an alternate world of their own. It's written in a classic style evocative of A. A. Milne and Roald Dahl, but doesn't quite measure up to their level of lyricism. Still, I can't deny the charm of the series, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the Young Adult genre who yearns for lighter fare.
What do You think about Man In The Moon (2011)?
Love his illustrations! My kids and I love this book!
—Chris
