Dennis Canfield

Oh, how much did I love this. It’s fun, it’s seasonal, it’s feel-good, it’s entertaining, and it just smacks a smile on your face from start to finish.

Marmel is Santa’s head labelling elf. But he is a very, very worried elf. He has no one to put on his naughty list. And if there’s no one to put onto his naughty list, then Christmas is surely going to come to end. He is utterly convinced that the Krumwerth family are candidates for the list, but Santa seems to be in a very benevolent mood. So, to please Santa and with the help of Santa’s brother and his merry band of penguins and some extraordinary green powder, Marmel, after some hair-raising trips between the North and South pole (you wouldn’t believe how quick it can be) does his best to transform the Krumwerths from button-pushing, electronic-gizmo-compulsive, uncommunicative beings to…well, you need to find out yourselves.

This is a delightful short story for everyone of all ages, from 8 to 80. It’s beautifully written, it’s cute, it’s funny, and there’s quite a subtle little message within. There are some very appealing illustrations peppered throughout.

If you’re having an ‘I hate Christmas’ moment in the hustle and bustle of the lead up to the holidays, take a break, sit down for an hour and prepare to be enchanted.… (plus d'informations)

With such a wonderful book cover, I had an inkling this was going to be a little treat. Or rather, it was little - a (short) story, but actually a huge treat – it was delightful, entertaining and pure joy. The little penguin in the design is quite pertinent. Without too much disclosure, all I’ll say is that penguins are more versatile than you think…..

Job losses aren’t just the scourge of the 21st century it seems – even 500-year-young Santa elves get nervous when their job as Head Labelling Elf is under threat. Marmel is responsible for reading Naughty Reports to recommend to Santa who should go on the naughty list, but it seems people are simply being too good. Surely naughtiness isn’t going out of fashion? Poor Marmel is a very, very worried little elf until Santa finally gives him a job to do – a commission to sort out the Richards family and save them from a lifetime of coal in their Christmas stockings.

The Richards family are comfortably off with all the trappings of an upper middle-class family. David and Susan’s children, Amanda and Patrick, probably never having known any different, are poised to believe that mobile telephones, U-Tube and takeaways are the norm. How could life be remotely functional without these things?

It’s up to Reverse Santa Claus to see what can be done - with Marmel’s help, quite naturally - to help make them understand that life can be fun, even rewarding, without the 'everything' that money can buy.

The second of Dennis’s books I have read (I’m becoming quite a fan), this really is a warming, feel-good, seasonal tale. Dennis has a very pleasing, straightforward, sometimes very witty style and a knack of setting the scene to perfection. I thought he got inside a 12-year-old’s head very accurately – in fact, he portrayed all the characters, especially the Richards, so brilliantly I almost wondered if they were based on anyone he knows…….but, then, he couldn’t possibly have met Santa, or one of his elves. Surely not….

If the hustle and bustle of Christmas is wearing you out or getting you down, then let me prescribe a one or two hours of sitting down with your feet up, a cup of hot cocoa and this short story. I guarantee complete refreshment and quite possibly a silly smile on your face.… (plus d'informations)

When the author of this short story very kindly considered me to review it, I was a little apprehensive - Christian fiction is not a genre I read. However, I succumbed to his powers of persuasion and was pleasantly surprised.

It’s a very poignant and touching tale, set in Austria just after the Napoleonic era, of a young man who it seems has had all those he holds most dear to him taken tragically away. His most recent loss is the final straw, which breaks not the camel’s back, but his faith in God. Such is his grief and distrust, he turns his back on his family, friends and life, until a near-fatal illness brings a very special person into his life, one old and wise. She is instrumental in helping him understand, rationalise, realise that good does come out of bad, but most importantly in persuading him to try and not be distracted by the questions which faith in God cannot always answer.

My reluctance to read this was driven mainly by the fact that I am not a religious person and would find it hard to relate. However, I chose a philosophical approach. Either way, whether this was a story to show that God does indeed move in mysterious ways or whether it was to make you ponder about the good and bad in the world, it was compelling, nicely written, well detailed and perfectly structured. There was perhaps a message, even for people like me. Anger and the inability to comprehend what has unjustly been taken from you is wasted energy: use the short time we have in this life to enjoy what you have been privileged to have been given.

I’m glad that I was persuaded to spend a very pleasant couple of hours reading this book.
… (plus d'informations)

Having enjoyed everything I've read by this author, it comes as no surprise that he’s written another wonderful fantasy novel. It’s impossible to slot it into an age group because it would entertain anybody between nine and ninety.

Fantasy isn’t my first love when it comes to genres, but I’m more than comfortable when there’s a foot on either side of the line, between normal and the not so normal. In this novel, Ethan is a twelve-year-old boy, his parents’ only child. He goes to school, plays baseball, prefers not to bump into a particular peer, has some good mates he likes to hang out with. And that’s it. Nothing strange there. Until a green puddle appears in his house and when he steps into it, he’s transported to the kingdom of Abentur. The king of Abentur has the means to ‘send’ him back to his real life whenever he wishes, but when Abentur’s future is threatened by invaders, led by Draykik, Ethan discovers he and Smoke, the dragon, are key to saving the kingdom.

It’s all just great fun, gallops along at a breathtaking pace, and I found it hard to put down. Canfield writes with fluidity and ease. It’s quite simply a wonderful, effortless read.

Read it yourself, read it to or with your children or grandchildren. Any which way is guaranteed to entertain you all!… (plus d'informations)