Teen/Adult Book Review: Secrets of a Christmas Box
December 2, 2009 by Karlynn Johnston
Filed under Book Nook
Secrets of a Christmas Box has to be the most original, new, yet bound to be a classic Christmas story I have read in years. I read this book in one sitting while getting pampered at the salon, and while you may think I am getting off topic or even sounding a wee bit vapid in this review, I am not.
I couldn’t put it down. I ignored my hairdresser’s prattling about the newest movies and music and instead literally just tore through this book in the three hours I was there. I wasn’t even really in the Christmas spirit at the time.
But how can one resist a book detailing how the decorations on your tree come to life at night? That once the lights go out in your house, a whole new world, right inside your very own Christmas tree, comes alive, rich with personalities, friendship and above all, love?
I loved the premise of the decorations on the tree being alive and relying on pine needles for sustenance, and I adored the deeper subplot in it, because all that is shiny tinsel is never gold, you know, there is tarnish as well.
The book was definitely light reading as it is written for the pre-teen crowd, yet I found myself wanting to read on and on about these little decorations and their adventure, wondering how and when it was all going to culminate.The small pencil illustrations here and there in the book only fueled my imagination more, I knew how the main characters looked and then could go on to imagine them moving, thinking and talking to each other.
The Secrets of a Christmas Box would be an excellent gift to tuck into a stocking for that avid reader in your life, or someone you know who just loves the Yuletide season and all the tales about it.
My only question is, when is the movie coming out?
Reading level: 8 – 12
Page Count: 248 pages
Publisher: Ecky Thump Books, Inc; 1st edition (September 1, 2009)
What to expect: magical Christmas adventures, nothing too violent for younger readers,
Publisher’s synopsis: Enter the magical festive world of the Christmas ‘Tree-Dwellers’, as Larry, a Christmas snowman, wakes up after the long sleep in the Christmas box, to find his brother is missing.
Desperate to find him before Christmas, Larry, along with his girlfriend Debbie, a newcomer Splint, and Larry’s companion Tinsel, break the laws of the ‘Tree-Elders’ and escape down the tree and away into the house, to look for clues.
Away from the safety of the tree and in an unfamiliar world, the Dwellers stumble upon a dark and sinister secret that threatens their entire world. Can Larry and the group make it back to the tree in time to warn the others, and finally uncover the truth behind the ‘Secrets of a Christmas Box’?
About the Author: Steven Hornby is a multi award winning animator, bringing stories to life for over 15 years in visual effects and animated movies. Born in Preston, England, he attended Lancaster University for Design Communication for 3 years, which although had nothing to do with animation or telling wonderful stories, introduced him to the world of computer graphics.
In 2000, after working on a set of commercials in Europe and Australasia, and his own short film, “Zzz Night”, he joined the animation crew on the Academy Award winning “The Lord of the Rings” films in New Zealand, which is where he received a VES Award for his animation on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional character, Gollum.
Since then, he has been busy as a lead animator on “I, Robot” (2004), “King Kong” (2005), Disney’s “Meet the Robinson’s” (2007) and “Glago’s Guest” (2008), and more recently Dreamworks’s “Kung Fu Panda” (2008) and “How to Train Your Dragon” (In Theaters 2010).
This brings us nicely to the present, where after 3 years of writing, he has just completed the children’s fantasy novel, “Secrets of a Christmas Box” to be released in September 2009. He initially planned the book as a screenplay, after spending several years having the story running around in his head, but instead turned it into his first children’s novel.
Aside from the busy hours at Dreamworks Animation, he has already begun work on the sequel to the Christmas novel, and also a new fantasy adventure, “The Mist Catchers”.
He currently lives in Burbank, California, with his wonderful family.
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