This book is a delightful addition to any child's library. It is well written and easy to understand and very nicely illustrated. It would make a nice book to read to a young child as you both curl up in a cozy chair in front of the fireplace, or as a bedtime story.
The story is written by the author with love, you can feel it in the story. It is about a cherished family tradition which the author grew up with. The book is ultimately about the love of a grandmother for her family.
Grandma planted four pecan trees on her farm, one for each grandchild as they were born. They grew up together over the years and every fall, the pecans ripened and fell to the ground. Every afternoon, Grandma bent close to the ground collecting the small brown nuts. She brought them to a wooden crate on the front porch. The story explains how the family would gather at the farm in the winter and then Grandma bought out the "magic" Christmas tin. She would ask her grandchildren to bring her the pecans as they all sat on the porch, so they could shell them. They would fill the magic tin until it was half-full, then put it in the freezer.
Each Christmas, the entire family would gather at Grandma's farm and the children would run to the freezer to get the magic tin. Instead of pecans, they would find Christmas Turtles, with caramel bodies and black chocolate shells with the pecans sticking out like turtle feet. The children were delighted and the whole family would enjoy the yummy turtles. The author asked her mother if they came from elves and her mother told her that someone who loved them much more than elves made them.
The candy appears every Christmas season until one year Grandma shows the children where the turtles really come from.
I think children between the ages of 3 and 8 and their parents will love this charming story and I highly recommend it. I plan on reading it to my 4 year old niece this Christmas and making Christmas Turtles with her from the recipe found in the back of the book.
©Nov 2006
Paulina Bishop
About the Author
Sara Ann Denson has been a nationally published writer since the age of eighteen. In 1995, she received the first place One-Act Play Award at the annual Alabama Writer's Conclave and went on to publish three books of scripts and plays along with various magazine credits. She currently lives in Jefferson City, Missouri with her husband Boyd, and their two sons, Samuel and Gideon.
Sara Ann Denson website
About the Illustrator
Tara McMillen has always had a special love for art. She has painted numerous murals throughout Kansas City, Missouri. Tara has been married for seventeen years and has two wonderful children, Ericka and Kyle, who also have been blessed with their mother's artistic ability.
Title: Christmas Turtles
ISBN-10: 0-9769017-6-5
ISBN 13: 978-0-9769017-6-1
LCCN: 2006904387
Price: 16.95
Pgs: 32 - Illustrated
Pub. Date: October 2006
Purple Sky Publishing
Specs: 10" x 8" Landscape/Hardback/Smythesewn
Distributors: Baker and Taylor, Follett, Unique Books and Quality Books Inc.
Retailers: Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, Borders.com
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