ISBN: 0-9769017-6-5

Lucky is the child whose grandmother loves them. That’s the message in Sara Denson’s book of grandmotherly love and family traditions. Both come across well in a simple story about Christmas candy.

Grandma does everything (don’t they all?) from gathering the pecans in the fall to making and wrapping the delicious candies, which seem to magically appear each Christmas. To hear Grandma tell it, elves make the candy. Children will enjoy being in on the secret that Grandma, and not elves, makes the candy.

The story is a good one, but the book has one problem—there are far too many words. This book would benefit from a professional edit because it’s much longer than it needs to be. The story begins with a great lilt, just the way a picture book should: “Between a little gray house and two gray barns grew four leafy green pecan trees.” My, but that is wonderful. It’s a marvelous start! Unfortunately, the author doesn’t maintain the rhythm and before long, the story loses its hold in all the words, words, words… In fact, perhaps this story isn’t a picture book at all. It feels more like a chapter in a longer story.

Be prepared to cook as there’s a recipe for the story’s candy at the end of the book. I didn’t try it myself, but most children will certainly insist upon it. Here’s a suggestion: Review the recipe first and have all the ingredients on hand before you read the story to your children. Then, save the book for an afternoon when you have the time to follow the story with some time in the kitchen. The book comes with a wooden spoon, like the one Grandma uses when she makes the candy—a nice gimmick, especially if you use it to make the candy. I hope that following the story with some time in the kitchen inspires parents to share their favorite Christmas memories with their children.

The book’s quality is good, although on a few pages, the words spill into the pictures. They’re harder to read, which pulls the reader out of the story. It’s a temporary glitch, but still annoying.

The above review was contributed by:  Susan Sales Harkins:  Software consultant and the author of several articles and books on database technologies. She and her husband, William, collaborate on children's non-fiction. Click Here to read more of Susan’s Reviews.