In this lovely, illustrated Christmas Story, author Joanne Kiersarsky embarks readers on a dreamy story about Ellie the Elf who lives in Santa’s Pixie Town near the North Pole. It is there Ellie Noel is the town mayor, and everyone in the town is an elf. Ellie also takes care of the town’s business, especially managing the Post Office.
One day, Ellie and Santa read a letter from a boy named Tommy Johnson from Riverton saying he no longer believes in Santa and does not know what the Spirit of Christmas means. Ellie thinks about it and says to Santa, “Maybe I can bring him to Pixie Town.” So, with the magic powers she invisibly visits Tommy in his sleep and sprinkles some pixie dust on him, allowing the young boy’s spirit to travel North to Pixie Town. There, Tommy sees all the colorful decorations, the Christmas tree with lights and tinsel, the toy making elf’s workshop, and Reindeer. Upon awakening from his sleep the next morning, Tommy is invigorated and enthused to once again believe in Santa and the Spirit of Christmas. Good job, Ellie, says Santa.
Beautifully illustrated with classical images of a North Pole village along with Ellie’ bright green eyes and shoes with curled-up toes, readers can instantly be transported into this fanciful place no matter what time of year they read this book. The narrative is told with a loving, maternal written voice highlighting the details so often portrayed in Christmas stories such as seen in the animation movie Polar Express. The convincing theme showing children that Santa is real and the miracle of Christmas is not in the gifts, but in the cooperation of family, friends and the community to achieve spectacular displays of love and kindness. Ellie the Elf is also a smart, resourceful and kind elf with magical powers using pixie dust to sprinkle on bags of toy gifts to shrink them, and to enable Tommy’s spirit to be separated from his sleeping body to venture to Pixie Town to see the celebration.
Joanne Kiersarsky has created a wonderful story for the youngest of children reinforcing the concept of the Spirit of Christmas. Because Pixie Town had year-round operations, this book is fine to be read anytime – it is more than just a seasonal story. It makes Christmas any day! Perfect for family reading during the holiday season, Ellie the Elf – The Spirit of Christmas captures the magic of Christmas while teaching valuable lessons about compassion, gratitude, and the joy of giving.
