This was truly a delight! So fresh and beautifully done, I’m not even kidding!

If you are a teacher for preschoolers, or even someone who’d like an annual family tradition for Christmas, this book is perfect for you! It has a sweet story with a great message for chilren, along with beautiful and festive pictures that instantly get you in the mood for Christmas.

I could be biased because I’m a die-hard Christmas fan, but there you have it. The story was short and adorable, with little rhymes and cute dialogues, and quite inspiring. I myself will definitely follow Holly’s plan for my class this winter, and have already subscribed to the site recommended by the book to be informed when the appropriate activities will be updated and posted.

***I was given an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.***

(DNF, 60%)

This is a really sweet children's book, but it's just a bit too sickly sweet for cynical grumpy me!

If you have young kids, and love doing acts of kindness as a family, this would suit you perfectly. It has charming illustrations and is an easy to read book

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

Festival of the Elves is a heart-warming book.

Two elves are in for an adventure to help and share their festival to humans. It is certainly magical. Full of inspiration and wonderful illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was adorable? Such a sweet Christmas read perfect for entertaining children! The illustrations are beautiful and captivating, and the language used obviously simple. I absolutely adored this, and plan on rereading it for Christmas next year! Readers of all ages will find this book Charming and the perfect tale to fall asleep to!

Elves, Holly and Noel, is a heartwarming and delightful children's book that captures the true spirit of the holiday season. The story is about two elves who live in the North Pole and decide to share a magical tradition with the Puddington Family. The book is beautifully illustrated and will captivate young readers with its charming and colorful pictures.

The story revolves around the Puddington family as they wake up each morning to a new handwritten note from the elves, which contains a task to complete. The tasks are designed to spread joy, create magic, and bring the family closer together. As the family completes each task, they discover the true meaning of Christmas and the magic that surrounds them.

The message of the book is clear: the magic around you is the magic you make. This is a great lesson for children to learn, especially during the holiday season. It encourages them to look for the magic in their lives and to create it for themselves and those around them. It's a message that will stay with readers long after they finish the book.

Overall, Elves, Holly and Noel is a delightful book that will bring joy and magic to any family's holiday season. It's a perfect read-aloud book for parents to share with their children, and the illustrations will keep young readers engaged and entertained. The book emphasizes the importance of family, love, and joy, and is sure to become a beloved holiday classic for families for years to come.

Such a sweet story. My kids were completely enthralled with not only the beautiful story, but also the beautiful artwork. This will be a yearly read for sure.

Quite a work with fun and binding story. Though these elves were so different from what I read from TLOTR. hahaha..
This is a story of two elf siblings, Holly & Noel, who inspired from their GrandPa Norris Figgyworth wanted to bring forth the elves' festival to humans all around and let them celebrate it too. So, to make it success they entered human world with their magic and let one family 'Puddingtons' to feel the magic around them.

Hence, they make it a tradition by sending elf notes to that family years after year (and that family to their friends and family further) and made these humans too have fun of what only elves enjoyed earlier to that time.

Illustrations are good specially the map. I wish I could hear te audiobook as well as previously I got an ARC to that but later when I missed the archived date, I requested for e-book and here it is.

Elves, Holly and Noel, live in the North Pole with their grandpa Norris Figgyworth. Their grandfather starts a tradition of spreading magic and love with handwritten notes each December. Holly and Noel decide they want to share this tradition with humans and select the Puddington Family to try it out on. What follows is a story of the Puddington’s as they wake up each morning to a new note from the duo with tasks to complete to create magic.

This is a Christmas story without the “Christmas”. It’s fun and endearing with an emphasis on spreading joy, family time, and fun. The artwork is beautifully done and the theme “The magic around you is the magic you make” is woven throughout. This is a holiday book that families are sure to enjoy together for years to come.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Very cute book! would buy for sure, the audiobook is also very cute!

4 out of 5

I originally listened to the audiobook but was informed there was a digital copy of the picture book as well so I came back to look at the pictures and they are so pretty! The physical copy and audiobook would go so great together for little bedtime stories!

Original review:
Fun little quick Christmas story for the family. These sort of audiobooks remind me of those apps a decade or two ago where audiobooks had apps that sort of had a little play or something similar to make them visual novels. I loved these as a kid and it might've just been something only my school teachers at the time knew about but because of that, this story brought me so much nostalgia. I also think the narrator did a great job, had a clear voice, and was so fun.

Disclaimer: I received an arc audio copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Festival of Elves is a great Christmas story that introduces many different ways in which to celebrate the holiday. Each day is celebrated by doing something different with your family or passing nice notes on to others. I particularly liked "gratitude day" as it reminds us to stop and be grateful for what we have and to be thankful for those things, especially during a holiday where children are often asking for more gifts or making wish lists for Santa. It's important to take a step back and realize that "getting" is not always what the holiday is about.

For me, although the message of the book was wonderful, the story was a little slow. In addition, while I like the new tradition of notes every night from elves, during the busy season of Christmas there are already so many traditions that we have - it would be hard for our family to adopt this one in as well. I wish we had found this prior to starting other similar traditions in our household - and I hope that other families find this early on in their children's lives. I do think we will incorporate some of the ideas into our regular elf traditions - especially "gratitude day."

The illustrations were good. Not overly detailed = but simple is good. The sketches were perfect for the story line. It was an easy read in under 10 minutes. The description does state that it is part of a trilogy - but it read well on it's own and didn't give the illusion that there was more to come, so I'll be anxious to see what comes out next!

The Festival of the Elves - The Magic Around You. Written by Holly Figgyworth (Pen name for Angeli Elliott) Illustrated by Mai S. Kemble

What a lovely story book for children age 3+ !

In the spirit of an Advent calendar, this Christmas time story is the tale of a brother and sister elves that want to share their grandfather’s tradition of The Festival of The Elves with humans.

In the book, the illustrations are wonderful and the audiobook’s narrator has such a perfect voice. It captivates the attention of all listeners. It’s only a 10 minute story so it’s perfect for a young audience.

I truly enjoyed looking at the book listening to the audiobook. It should become a classic Christmas story !

If you are interested in receiving elves notes, you may register on the website: www.festivaloftheelves.com

Thank you NetGalley and eWonderment, LLC for these ARCs of the book as well as the audiobook.

In a Nutshell: A Christmas story that isn’t a Christmas story. 😃

Holly and Noel are two elves who are very impressed with their grandfather’s idea of the ‘Festival of the Elves’. This involves leaving little trinkets and notes on every day of December in the houses of family and friends, giving them a nice surprise and a theme for the day. Holly and Noel want to spread this custom into the human world too, but as there is only a limited supply of elf magic, they are allowed to try it in one human house. Thus they land up at the Puddington residence. What do you think? Will they be able to spread as much cheer there with the Festival of the Elves?

The story is like a combination of an Advent calendar and a treasure hunt. Through the daily note left by the elves in a bid to encourage the Puddingtons to spread cheer, there are many beautiful and fun moments coming out. I loved the catchphrase: “The Magic around you is the magic you make.” A nice way of remembering that magic and happiness lies in our own hands and that cheer enhances when spread.

There are plenty of good themes coming out in the book: the importance of family time, having fun, spreading joy, the joy of sharing,… Kids will be encouraged to try out such activities at home too. It could become a nice family tradition for December.

You will find subtle references to Christmas throughout the book: the names of the two elves, a map at the start of the book that has a mention of Santa’s workshop, many Christmassy decorations at the Puddington house,… However, there’s no direct mention of the festival or of anything religious. This approach makes the book a wonderful December read for everyone and not just those who celebrate Christmas.

I would have loved some more focus on the reasons behind the characters’ actions. Many a time, it felt like we knew the whats but not the whys. The Puddingtons’ reaction to the note left by the elves left me with mixed feelings; I liked their enthusiastic reception to the activities suggested by the elves but wondered why they never questioned who or where were the elves who left the note every single day. Ah well, kids will enjoy the story regardless.

The vocabulary is quite easy and will work well for bedtime readalouds too, especially because of the little notes written by the elves infusing the story with wonder.

The illustrations are quite striking, though I wanted the elves to look more magical. The vivid colours ought to work wonderfully in the physical copy.

This is supposed to be the first of a trilogy, but I found the story quite complete in itself. There’s no clue about what direction the series will take as there’s no thread left hanging. Time will tell what magic is to be unfurled in the next.

A good read for its target age group of 3+ years.

3.75 stars.


My thanks to eWonderment, LLC and NetGalley for the DRC of “Festival of the Elves ~ The Magic Around You”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The graphics are suitable for children and magically!! It was beautiful to see the beauty! Holly and Noel are elf siblings who live in the North Pole with their grandfather Norris Figgyworth. Their grandfather begins a December tradition of spreading magic and loves through cute handwritten notes.
The pair decides to spread the magical cheer to humans by visiting Puddington's house as an experiment. Will they, however, be successful in assisting humans in creating magic?
This is a cute book about how love and positivity can spread joy and happiness. The story revolves around the theme, 'the magic around you is the magic you make'. The writing is straightforward, sweet, and heartwarming. The font is simple to read.
The visual examples are bright, warm, cosy, and magical. On some pages, the elves resemble anime characters. They're all adorable, though. The older elves have odd, long moustaches. A lot of white is used for the snow, which contrasts with a dark blue sky and a fuzzy green pine tree on the side. The book also includes a map of the North Pole!
This is the first book in a trilogy, but it can stand alone. Festival of the Elves: The Magic All Around You is a lovely book with a message about spreading love and joy. The final page includes a link to a website where people can write little notes to notes throughout December to learn more about the event.

Such a heartwarming story about how you can create happiness in a simple way! It's a good Christmas story before bed time to teach your kids about kindness

Thanks NetGalley and Publisher for this arc. This doesn't affect my review.

The concept is lovely and I think it is a very good book for children and the adults who would read it to them. The idea of the festival is so warming. The idea by the other characters is more so and it makes my heart warm with happiness and it seems nice.

The graphics are children friendly and magicalelfy!! It was so nice to see the beauty!

What a precious piece! It’s just exquisite, from the quality of the illustrations, to the message it conveys, including the overall vibe and atmosphere. I thought it was a beautiful childen’s book that deserves a wide-ranging audience because it is a feast for the eyes and the heart. Highly recommended!

4.5 Stars

Holly and Noel are an elf brother-sister duo living in the North Pole with their grandpa Norris Figgyworth. Their grandpa starts a tradition of celebrating December by spreading magic and love with cute handwritten notes.
The duo decides to spread the magical cheer amongst humans and go to Puddington’s home as an experiment. But will they be successful in helping humans make magic?
This is a super cute book about how love and positivity can spread cheer and make people happy. The story revolves around the theme, 'the magic around you is the magic you make'. The writing is simple, sweet, and heartwarming. The font is easy to read.
The illustrations are cheerful, warm, cozy, and magical. The elves look like anime characters on some pages. They are all cute, though. The older elves have quirky and long mustaches. There’s a lot of white for the snow, contrasted with a dark blue sky and a fuzzy green pine tree on the side. The book has a map of the North Pole too!
This is the first book of the trilogy but works as a standalone. Festival of the Elves: The Magic Around You is a lovely book with a message about spreading love and sharing happiness. The last page has a link to the website where people can write little notes to notes through December month and know more about the event.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and eWonderment, LLC, and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A new and refreshing holiday children’s book. With images as **magical** as the story.

While the story follows two elves on the search for Christmas magic, this tale holds a deeper meaning. This book shares the importance of family connections and how holiday times are the best to make memories and special relationships within our families through traditions. The traditions don’t have to be those that have been carried out for many years past, they can be new and unique to just your family. It is the time we are connected to our children as a family that we will remember always.

This book is a great way to teach new generations about the importance of those connections.

Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & eWonderment, LLC

This was very cute and wholesome. I love the concept of the elves gaining more magic in the human world by performing acts of kindness for a family during the holidays. While the art style wasn't my favourite I did love the colours and the message of the story.