BookElves Anthology, Volume 1

by Jemima Pett, Rebecca M. Douglass, Fiona Ingram

Seven stories, seven situations threatening the festivities. Will the holidays be a disaster? Will families be left out in the cold? Will there be tears before bedtime, or will there be happy endings all round? The MG BookElves group brings you its first anthology of tales to enjoy during the holiday season:


* Reliable Clooney Dockins delivered his town's mail on time for thirty-two years, until that strange and impossible Christmas Eve when he woke up late. M.G.King (Fizz & Peppers at the Bottom of the World, Librarian on the Roof)


* Max the Tonkinese cat finds Santa Claus on the roof and is whisked away to retrieve a very special message from another time and place. Wendy Leighton-Porter (The Shadows from the Past series)


* Shirley Link is an amateur sleuth who lives in a town that could use all the sleuths it can get! What is it about Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts that makes it such a hotspot for dastardly deeds? Even on Christmas Day? Ben Zackheim (Shirley Link Detective Series, The Camelot Kids)


* Champ may be a rescue dog, but he’s the best person around to stop the dognappers and save heartbreak at Christmas. Fiona Ingram (The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, Champ: My Story of Survival)


* When the railroad gets snowed under, the two bit town of Skunk Corners has to play host to a load of mighty difficult strangers. Can Big Al and the Ninja Librarian keep the season of goodwill from breaking into a riot? Rebecca M. Douglass (The Ninja Librarian, Halitor the Hero)


* Far away on the west coast of a western Scottish island, Dylan and Dougall face yuletide in Castle Haunn with no heat, light or food. Can Dylan get the message through to the mainland for help, or is there something nasty waiting for him in the hills? Jemima Pett (The Princelings of the East series)


* It’s Christmas holiday and Lily is stuck in a remote mountain village. With school out for a month and no internet connection, at first she wonders how she will fill the time. In this sweet romance, Lily discovers there’s more to gift-giving than just the giving. S. Smith (The Seed Savers series)


Each tale weaves its own seasonal magic. Each magician has already warmed the hearts of thousands of young readers with their stories. Enjoy these frantic races to meet the Christmas deadline while you curl up in your favourite reading spot this winter.

Genres: Childrens, Kids, Anthologies

172 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2014

About the author

Jemima Pett has been living in a world of her own for many years. Writing stories since she was eight, drawing maps of fantasy islands with train systems and timetables at ten. Unfortunately no-one wanted a fantasy island designer then, so she tried a few careers, getting great experiences in business, environmental research and social work. She finally got back to building her own worlds, and wrote about them. Her business background enabled her to become an independent author, responsible for her own publications.

Her first series, the Princelings of the East, is now complete, with ten mystery adventures for advanced readers set in a world of tunnels and castles. There's a strong element of time travel, and relies on thinking yourself out of difficult situations! Jemima does chapter illustrations for these.

Shehas also published two volumes of Christmas stories for young readers, the BookElves Anthologies, and her father's memoirs White Water Landings, about the Imperial Airways flying boat service in Africa. Her current work-in-progress is the third in her (adult) science fiction series set in the Viridian System, in which the aliens include sentient trees.

Jemima now lives in Hampshire with her guinea pigs, the first of whom, Fred, George, Victor and Hugo, provided the inspiration for her first stories, The Princelings of the East. She is currently writing short stories for anthologies, and working on ideas for a new climate-related fiction book.

See my blog at jemimapett.com
The Princelings series at Princelings of the East series
My science fiction books at Viridian System series

Reviews

[Jemima Pett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can only review 85% of this book, since I wrote the other 15%, although Rebecca Douglass says she'll vouch for my section!

It's the first time I've been involved in an anthology, and its a lot of fun. You may remember last year that twelve BookElves hosted a mammoth giveaway through December - this year seven have contributed stories, and what good stories they are, too!

It's an eclectic mix, tales of a village in turmoil on Christmas Eve, an extra adventure for Max from the Shadows from the Past series, a new Shirley Link adventure, a new Champ adventure, a new tale of the Ninja Librarian, a spin-off from the Princelings of the East, and some heart-warming detail from the Seed Savers series. What I particularly liked was that there was no real need to read any of the series by the authors in question - all the stories stand alone and feature the things that can threaten the simple pleasure of the festive season. And without being soppy, that is what they do; celebrate the season in the best possible way.

I'd like to give it five stars, but as lead author, I think I should keep quiet. I'm really proud to be part of this group, though. Thank you, my really talented friends, for putting this together!

[Chris The Story Reading Ape · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tales from great writers

I enjoy reading anthologies like this one, they give a great demonstration of the writing talents and imagination of different writers.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won my copy through a Goodreads giveaway.
My only real points that I want to make about this book are that:
I found it more of an elementary level anthology, rather than middle grade. Some of the stories don't evolve too much while others are too complicated to fully wrap up by the end, and I noticed some typos. A short review, I know, but there isn't much to say. I didn't particularly love the book, but I'm also not the intended audience. I don't recommend this to older readers, but I think 8-12 year olds could enjoy it as a light, holiday read. I couldn't find the book available on the Book Depository, however you can find it on amazon both in digital and paperback format- both at reasonable prices if you're looking for a little gift for a young reader.

[Victoria Zigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like with most anthologies, I found that I enjoyed some stories more than others. Also, in the case of this particular anthology, some of the stories didn't feel very festive, some felt like they could do with a few more details added to them, and some had both issues. Still, this was an entertaining collection of stories, which made for a great read.