Title: Christmas Carol & the Defenders of ClausAuthor: Robert F. Fouch
Publisher: Sky Pony Press, 2017
Pages: 245
Genre: children's fantasy (ages 8-12)
Obtained: from publisher in exchange for an honest review
Summary: Carol loves Christmas to the point that other students at school call her Christmas Carol. When she finds out that she has powers that give her the opportunity to be a Defender of Claus (someone who protects and serves Santa), she decides to go to the North Pole for training. There she finds out about the Masked Man who is out to get Santa. What can she do to help?
Thoughts: I read this book to my 10 year old son. We both enjoyed it. He is a low level reader for his age, but he easily understood what was going on. He could not have read this on his own due to the advanced vocabulary and sentence structure. It seems to be written at a middle school reading level. This would be a terrific book for advanced readers in elementary school. It would also be a wonderful book to read to a group of kids that are a wide range of ages, but be aware that it has very long chapters.
In this book there is no question that Santa, the elves, and flying reindeer exist at the North Pole. It is a fantastic adventure that starts in Florida, takes the reader to New York City (Rockefeller Center of course), and then around the world with a stop in the Dominican Republic. The Defenders of Claus are from a variety of countries, but the story mentions mostly American customs and traditions. It does make clear that Christmas is celebrated differently around the world and that Santa respects this. It gives the message that Christmas is about giving, not getting.
It was refreshing to read a story about Santa that wasn't geared toward very young children. The plot was simple, but the author really engages the reader through the characters he created and his writing style. The author writes in a way that makes the reader feel he or she is right there with Carol. He adds details and descriptions that really add to the fantastic adventure. The characters come to life and as you read, you see them in your head. Most of the characters are odd, quirky, and interesting. My son and I wanted to know more about the Masked Man and hope that there will be a sequel to this story so that we can find out more. What a great book for older kids that believe in Santa!
Tea: Caramel
Obtained: purchased
I purchased the Sweet Tooth Sampler from Adagio Teas. It came in a gift box with four resealable bags of different dessert teas. Today I sampled the Caramel tea, which is a black tea with caramel flavor added. When I opened the bag, I got the scent of both the black tea and sweet caramel. I put two teaspoons of the long, thin, black leaves into my teapot and poured sixteen ounces of water that had been boiled over the leaves. I let this steep for three minutes. The liquid was a dark orange brown. It did not have a strong scent, but there was a light scent of sweet caramel mixed with black tea. The taste was of a full body black tea blended with sweet caramel. The sweetness and flavoring was not overpowering in this tea. This is a great blend for when you are looking for something slightly sweet without the calories. It does have a high caffeine content, so it may not be the best nighttime treat.
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