Secrets of a Christmas Box by Steven Hornby

Steven Hornby has written a delightful story in Secrets of a Christmas Box. Larry, a large snowman ornament, seems to have lost his brother Terrence and is looking for him everywhere. With the help of Debbie, the girl reindeer; and Splint, newest ornament on the tree ;who is a wooden figurine, they look all over the tree
for Terrence but he is nowhere to be found.

Dare they leave the tree into the world of humans? It is strictly forbidden by the Tree-Lord for any ornament to go down to the floor - ever. But they have to find him and there's nowhere else to look! The group takes a big breath and off they go! Will they find Terrence or is he lost for good? Just what is the secret of the Christmas box?

When Steven Hornby created this story, he built it into 24 chapters - one for each December night until Christmas. An excellent idea and one I know that I will be thanking him for every season! I can't wait to share this with my grandchildren - unless I decide to keep it just for me, which is what Gramma's need to do once in awhile!

The Never Pals by Rocky Kuznik

January Thornton was neighbor to Frank Bingham. Jan worked for a hotel chain and badly needed a break. Frank, a salesman extraordinaire, was lonely and bored. What they need is time away. So off they go, about as opposite as people can get; for a two-week vacation in sunny Florida.

What will happen when opposities share a vacation and their opinions on life? The Never Pals shows us in an entertaining way.

I have to be honest here, I did not like this book. While I do appreciate the opportunity to have reviewed it, it just was not my cup of tea. I don't know if it had something to do with the cover or not. When I opened the mailer my first thoughts were "Uck!" However, there was some humor here and you may find it to be the best thing you've ever read. Give it a try.

How To catch and Keep a Vampire

This tongue-in-cheek book on vampiric dating was really fun to read! Diana Laurence writes on such subjects as: vampire fangs, vampires paying taxes and pick up lines: "I picked these flowers up for you...at the cemetary." The book was amusing but it was not what I had expected. To be honest, I'm not sure just what I did expect but this wasn't it.

Still, the advice is worth having be it a mortal or an immortal guy you're after. I think it was a good effort, just not for me.

Fairy Hunters Ink.

Fairy Hunters Ink by Sheila Dane is just exquisite! The rest of the title is (A Book of Fairies for Children and Not-So-Grown Ups). Apparently I am one of the latter. This book is so captivating that you can enjoy it alone or, if you are feeling generous, share your chuckles with a child. The illustrations by Rose Csorba are just lovely, funny and cause many questions of 3+ yr-old grandchildren. A perfect book.

We learn of Attic Fairies, who, when asked what they do for fun replied: "We play 'Whist'. Want to play?" "Sure" And we began to play the most curious game of 'Whist" I had ever played...They made up the rules as they went, and made wild bets with beads and whatnots they found in my attic. (I had no idea I owned so many unused whatnots.)" We hear from Big Rabbit, Turtle, various other Fairy cultures (Fairies of baskets, tea cups, rivers and so on). This is a keeper for anyone with grandchildren or who never really gave up Pooh and friends.