All the things that children love about candy and Christmas can be found in abundance in this eclectic latest by Stoner. Francyli, a little girl, lives in a small village of Muttenz, a sweet Swiss village tucked between Germany and France and dreams about candy all the time. What happens when a magical little friend arrives and learns about Francyli’s dream of turning the Muttenz village Christmas Tree into a magical tree covered in candies? Stoner’s richly nuanced narrative is delightfully rhymed as it gives voice to the little Francyli’s quirky dream: “Dripping with chocolate, loaded with sweets, candy ribbons for branches, candy sticks each sweet leaf. / Bonbons for baubles, strings of gumdrops for lights, candy canes all over, and crystaled dreamy delight.” By turns dreamy and ingenious, the illustrations by Luisa Galstyan are addictive, presented in full color format, brilliantly capturing Stoner’s young protagonist’s ripe imagination and quirky dreams. Full of whimsical, intriguing characters, childhood fantasies, and Christmas spirit, this delightful book beautifully explores the themes of imagination, kindness, friendship, and sharing.
Stoner’s ability to dream from a young child’s perspective is sure to earn this book a wide audience. This is an absolute delight.
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Categories: children's fiction
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