Review by Booklist Review
Everyone knows the story of Santa Claus, but fewer people know the story of his sister, the Christmas Witch. Kristoffer and Kristtorn were abandoned in the Black Forest as children, left to discover their powerful magic. While Kristoffer is found by the Kringle family, Kristtorn is raised by the Yuletide witch Lutzelfrau. When nearby townspeople discover Kristtorn's magic, they condemn her witchcraft, and she flees. In search of her long-lost brother, she mistakenly ends up in the South Pole and vows to never stop searching for him. The story is steeped heavily in the fairy tale tradition--raven scouts, capes woven from leaves, the ability to talk to animals, a queen who lies frozen under ice--and, especially when paired with illuminated borders and the deeply saturated colors of the artwork, it conjures up the magic of the Grimms and Andersen. While the prose and language is perhaps not as elegant as one would hope in a fairy tale of this scope, the world building and creative storytelling are powerful enough to propel the reader forward. Alternative holiday fare.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Copper-haired infants abandoned in the Black Forest come to disparate ends in this "forgotten" dark myth. Though young Kristtörn and Kristoffer share the "gift of swiftness" and a life in the woods, the arrival of a cinnamon bun--toting Danish couple--the Kringles--ends with pastry-intent Kristoffer abandoning his sister, who is subsequently taken in by the Yule Witch Lutzelfrau. While Kristoffer learns his adoptive woodcutter father's trade and internalizes "a strong sense of duty and hard work," Kristtörn lives "a wild, carefree life in the forest," learning magic but proving mercurial. When disregarding Lutzelfrau's counsel ends in a flight to the South Pole, Kristtörn takes up a seasonal search for her North Pole--dwelling twin. Employing fairy tale diction, producer Murphy and actor Plaza meld pagan and Christian elements into blocks of text elevated through Iredale's moody folk art. Though the story upholds folktales' neither-here-nor-there ethics, an exploration of male privilege ends up punishing the temperamental female protagonist, undercutting the spooky seasonal telling. All characters read as white. Ages 5--8. (Oct.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An original legend is introduced in the familiar style of a fairy tale. The titular tale has been "forgotten to time," but Kristtörn was once as well known as her long-lost brother, Kristoffer, or Santa Claus. Abandoned as infants, the twins are looked after by animals in the forest until the day Kristoffer is carried off by a well-meaning childless couple, who raise him in a village. Kristtörn weeps bitterly and is found by a witch, who raises her in the forest and teaches her to use her magic, warning her to hide it from people, lest she be targeted. When Kristtörn is seen healing an animal, a mob forms to find her and burn her. She says goodbye to her adopted mother and sets off in search of her brother. After a dangerous journey, she ends up at the wrong pole. Learning that he travels the world on Christmas Eve, Kristtörn spends years searching for him, but when she finds him, they are separated by angry townspeople wishing to destroy her. Kristtörn's temper is her downfall, but readers are left to wonder whether her return will be vengeful or conciliatory. In a story that pairs the popular holiday with the pagan background of Yuletide, questions of intolerance and human flaws offer interesting layers to ponder and discuss. Dark illustrations echo themes of winter nights and ancient European villages. All human characters present White. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A well-written and thought-provoking tale. (Picture book. 4-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
