Title: The Tale of the Christmas Hero
Author: Carolyn Mitchell
Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-64361-350-5
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Pages: 29
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
Author Carolyn Mitchell has scribed a rhyming poetic story which takes Clement Moore’s famous An Account from a Visit of St Nicholas one step further; yet still using most of the same characters such as Santa, the reindeer and a mouse in her book titled The Tale of the Christmas Hero. Based on a true story (no kiddin!) you have Santa being delayed on Christmas Eve as his reindeer begin to frolic around and play with a mouse. They all get tuckered out and it appears as if Santa’s sled, laden with gifts for good girls and boys, gets stuck in the snow. Who would think that frisky mouse would then save the holiday by awakening some bears from their hibernation, to help pull out the stuck sled and get the reindeer back on-track.
Written with an iambic beat of clever rhyming words, effortlessly joined together with fanciful narration, coupled with artistic illustrations by Brenda Timms, Carolyn Mitchell tells an exciting, suspenseful and humorous tale of a mouse being the protagonist of the story. “And then…” is her clever segue to join the events with credibility and a fun sequence of action, as the story gets deeper and deeper into becoming a challenge for Santa to keep his promise of delivering Christmas toys.
With the interleaving of poetic text and imaginative illustrations, The Tale of the Christmas Hero pages as if it is an animated cartoon; having an ideal written voice, loving and lulling children into the world of fantasy, as humorously told to be a true story. How wonderful the malleable minds of children are at such young and impressionable ages to be read this book at bedtime. Readers can sense all of the kindness and joy which went into the creation of this book – which I believe is destined to become a Christmas classic.
The Tale of the Christmas Hero has all of the right elements to shine like Christmas lights atop a tree in the genre of illustrated children’s books. This book has clever wordsmithing with a bouncy beat, accompanied by beautiful illustrations and a storyline completely out of the creative mind of a silly author – evidently a person who loves telling tales to youngsters. Carolyn Mitchell’s book will allow all parents to have memorable moments with their children whether it’s the Christmas season or just a fun bedtime story throughout the year. This would be a great stocking stuffer for kids to unwrap and read over and over again. Hopefully Santa will make it in time to put this in their stockings!
