Trixie, the star of James Brown’s new picture book Jingle Spells, is no ordinary witch. While all the other witches are spending Halloween ‘gobbling gloop-filled gobstoppers’, she’s busy wishing that an entirely different holiday would come around… Christmas!
Her friends don’t understand her love for all things Christmassy but, determined to convince them how magical it is, Trixie (with Rudy the cat) embarks on a journey to Lapland to enlist Santa’s help. But witches are very much not welcome there!
For a start, ALL witches are on the naughty list, and even though the elves are too snotty and sneezy to prepare toys in time for Christmas, they’re not keen on Trixie’s attempts to help. And when Santa arrives he’s weary and wheezy too! But Trixie has a special potion recipe that might just save Christmas. Will her friends finally be convinced of Christmassy joys though? Santa might be able to help with that…
James Brown’s prose is a joy to read aloud (with lots of fun alliteration and bits to sing along to) and his illustrations are even better, bustling with detail and diverse characters. Elves, snow, Santa, reindeer, magic potions, witches, cats, bats, what’s not to love? The cover is particularly wonderful, with stars galore and tactile sparkly bits.
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