Candy Cane Lane

September 26, 2016
Inspired by the plastic choirboy that decorated Santoro’s childhood lawn at Christmas, this offbeat story opens on Candy Cane Lane, where dazzling Christmas displays adorn all the houses, except for one. In that small house, a girl whose father can’t afford decorations is thrilled to discover a discarded choirboy after a storm, but her father accidentally returns it to the trash. In a wild chain of events, the choirboy befriends a plastic reindeer and Halloween ghost, arrives at a factory filled with rejected lawn ornaments (“There was a Santa with a green coat, a camel with three humps, wise men without gifts, and a snowman who looked melted”), and leads them back to Candy Cane Lane to brighten the girl’s yard and spirits. Santoro’s (Which Way to Witch School?) brassy digital cartoons have an appealing 1960s vibe, and his cast of playful misfits cements the idea that the holidays are for everyone. Ages 4–8. Agent: Scott Gould, RLR Associates.

A little girl rescues a damaged, plastic choirboy statue that mysteriously comes alive and leads a group of rejected Christmas statues back to the girl's house.The unnamed girl lives with her father in their own small house on Candy Cane Lane, a street of otherwise large, fancy houses decorated each year in over-the-top style for Christmas. After a windy blizzard, the girl finds a damaged choirboy figure in a trash can and takes him home, but her dad mistakenly puts the choirboy back in the trash, and the statue ends up at the garbage dump, where he meets a slightly damaged ghost statue and a reindeer statue with a broken antler. They find their way to a factory that makes lawn-ornament statues, and a large group of rejected statues finds their way back to Candy Cane Lane with the help of a friendly giant statue. The girl is thrilled to have the motley crew of figures for her Christmas decorations, and the previously rejected statues are pleased to have found a home together. Santoro is a story artist for animated films, and both the story and illustrations feel like the book version of an animated television special. The computer-generated illustrations have a nostalgic, 1950s flavor, with the muted palette of lavenders and grays conveying a surrealistic atmosphere. Two of the statues and a character in the background have dark skin; the other characters are white. Readable but forgettable. (Picture book. 4-7) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2016

K-Gr 2-Too poor to afford the expensive lawn ornaments, a little girl who lives in the only undecorated house on Candy Cane Lane wishes for just one tchotchke to help celebrate the season. Her wish seems to be granted when a blizzard blows a scuffed and battered plastic choirboy her way, but when her well-meaning father throws him in the trash, what follows is a homage to the Rankin/Bass production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and his journey to the Island of Misfit Toys. In the dump, the choirboy comes to life, meets other abandoned lawn figures, and begins a journey back to the little girl, making friends with other rejected holiday ornaments and giant mascots along the way. This is a quirky Christmas story to be sure, and it's nice to see a tale that centers on a family dealing with financial struggle during the holiday season but doesn't revolve around gift giving. Retro, cartoony, and digitally enhanced illustrations complement the narrative, but the characters and foreground elements sometimes feel stylistically inconsistent between spreads. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries looking for more contemporary Christmas selections.-Brooke Sheets, Los Angeles Public Library

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