Illustrations – Becky Minor
Honey Moon just wants to be able to celebrate Christmas like they do in normal towns, but nothing seems to be going right this Christmas. First Honey is cast as a shepherd in the annual Christmas pageant when she’s certain she would be perfectly cast in the role of Mary. Then she discovers that the pageant is in jeopardy this year because evil mayor Kligore is organising a Haunted Holiday Festival instead. Honey also stumbles upon a town mystery and is determined to solve it with the help of her friends.
Throughout the story Honey reminds us to stand up for what we believe in, even when it seems like we’re alone in our convictions. Honey is quite bossy with her friends in this book, with her assertion that she is the leader, and it was nice to see her flaws along with her good intentions. She also reintroduced me to the word numbskull so I should be thanking her for that. I haven’t heard that word used in years and am now determined to find a way to use it in everyday conversation.
The illustrations were so much fun and a great blend of Halloween and Christmas. I particularly loved that the scenes depicted at the beginning of each chapter were inside snow globes. My favourite snow globe scene was the snowman in a black cape with fangs. If I ever see snow I’m sure this will be the inspiration for my first snowman.
One of my pet peeves showed up frequently in this book. The detail in the illustrations didn’t always correspond to the description in the text. This happens a lot in children’s books and I’m not sure whose role attention to detail is, but it really frustrates me. Each instance is only minor but if the text specifically describes how something looks, then I expect that something in the illustration to match its description. Some of the examples in this book include:
- Mrs Keys is wearing heavy boots. In the illustration she’s not wearing boots.
- Miss Fortissimo was wearing a necklace that was so long it reached past her belly button. I didn’t see a necklace in the illustration.
- Honey and her friends have fries and milkshakes. In the illustration there are milkshakes but no fries.
- Honey is sitting on a bench with her little brother. Her little brother is not in the illustration.
- The spots on a turtle shell are all different colours. In the illustration the turtle is only green. On the front cover the turtle is green with white segments on its shell.
While overall I enjoyed reading Dog Daze more than this book (although I am quite partial to the first book in a series), I was still entertained and it made me laugh. I liked the story and the development of the mystery, and I love Honey’s determination and courage. I’m definitely interested in reading more Honey Moon books.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Rabbit Publishers and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this book.
Once Upon a Blurb
Honey Moon has had it with the scary stuff, at least for Christmas. She wants Sleepy Hollow to celebrate her favourite holiday like normal people. Honey and her friends, Becky, Claire and Isabela, have one chance to take the holiday back, but it means solving a decade old mystery and ringing some bells. YIKES!
Schizanthus Nerd 