Book Review: A Christmas Secret by Candace Hall

Christmas is sneaking up on us and this is a good time to look at some of our favorite gifts: books!
A Christmas Secret would make a lovely Christmas Gift!

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
• Perfect Paperback: 36 pages
• Publisher: Tate Publishing (July 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1617773530
• ISBN-13: 978-1617773532
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.8 x 0.2 inches

Genre: Young Children, Holiday
My Rating: 4.5

Product Description:
When Santa’s reindeer discover a lost kitten named O’Malley, they have no choice but to rescue him and bring him back to the North Pole.  Soon all the residents of the North Pole are doing their part to save O’Malley, including Broome, the head Elf, and Wilma the mouse.  Because only those who were born in the North Pole can live there, everyone decides to keep O’Malley a secret–until O’Malley goes missing.  Will O’Malley be able to stay in the North Pole?  What will Santa think about  ‘A Christmas Secret’?

Review: This is a really sweet story with charming drawings.

It’s Christmas Eve and Rudolph and all of Santa’s reindeer are cheerily pulling Santa on his way.  They come to a rooftop and Rudolph hears a pitiful noise below.  He spots a tiny kitten in trouble in the snow.  He rescues the kitten and it is dubbed O’Malley.  The other reindeer and the head Elf, Broome, agree to hide the kitten while they try to help it.  There is even a mother mouse who is willing to “adopt” the orphan baby. But what are they going to do with the sweet creature who wasn’t born at the North Pole and therefore isn’t allowed to stay?  How long can they keep the secret from Santa?

This is an easy story for middle school children to read or for grandmothers, like me, to read to their little ones. The sweet cover draws you in to want to know the secret. My only disappointment was that the cute illustrations are in black and white instead of color.  That doesn’t lessen the charm of the story but it was a surprise. The story will "warm the cockles of your heart" and bring a smile to adults and children alike.

You can learn more about Candace at www.candacehallbooks.com or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HallCandace.

I received this book from from the author through Pump Up Your Book Tours for an honest review.
You can also learn more about the author and visit the other Tour participants through the links listed here.