Just amazing! Loved this book! Loved the family was led by two mamas, loved their hope, loved their belief in magic and Christmas, loved the element of surprise towards the end - all of it!

The illustrations are uh-DORABLE! The font was even great - super kid and late-night friendly.

We need more of these books! Diverse, goodness in character's hearts, imagination! Yes please!

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

My boys and I really love reading this together. Sweet cute story

The book didn’t really hold my sons interest. We would read a while and he would just be done. Loved the different types of families represented throughout the book. Just wish there was more depth to the characters.

Children loved to be read to and this is an excellent addition to their yearly stories. It's unique and a lot of fun!

This colourfully illustrated short chapter book is a joy. I read it in one sitting. The way that the two mum family is portrayed here is brilliant, so natural and just a part of the story and we definitely need more children's books like this. Everyone loves a Christmas story and this one will delight young readers. I can imagine lots of children wanting to volunteer to wrap presents with the elves. One little part that I totally loved was the idea of 'lose a minute' where everyone gathered together before they started their work. I love this! I love the characters in the book and I do hope now the author will develop these and that we as the readers will get to know them and the place in which they live ' R 'even better. This is a Christmas book that goes further and allows so many more families and children to see themselves in books and that makes my heart sing.

With huge thanks to NetGalley and the author and publishers for allowing me to spend a Christmasy afternoon in September.

It was a fun and cute holiday read , definitely an amazing read for every kid that wants to experience fantasy at their doorstep

This was such a quick fun whimsical Christmas-ey read for me.

If I read this when I was still a little kid, I would definitely favor this book so much.

I loveeee Christmas time. Personally, I start my Christmas from November😉 but it really doesn’t hurt to start Christmas early this year by reading this. I truly feel nostalgic because this is the kind of story that I prefer when I was a kid. The family, the adventure, the Santa, the children, the elves too!

The family of 5 with 2 mommies that choose their children over everything. The adventure to save Christmas. The Santa that makes every kid wishes comes true. The children with such an innocent heart and the elves that are very magical. The art is perfect too! I loooove them!

- Thank you NetGalley and Undercats for the e-ARC -

<i> Thank you to Undercats and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This was such a beeautiful lgbtqia+ story wrapped up in a cute Christmas story, helping to spread acceptance and love.

We follow three siblings whose two mums moved to the city, R. as the place that they had lived before was no longer safe for them due to being gay. However, R is safe - if untrusting to strangers. This is such a gorgeous story with so many styles of family (not just Mum, Dad, kids) and I love to see it. I wish I'd been able to read this as a kid in the 90s - it wasn't the easiest place to grow up knowing that you were questioning.

However, can I just say right here that I love the Elves. :D They are great. And the kids. Oh how inventive! Ha. I'd love to have adventures like this, and I think that my nieces and nephews would love to go on this trip to help Santa! Right down to the clock. Hehe.

Personally, I'd love to see this become another "Night Before Christmas", Christmas Eve style story. <3

Though, warning in advance for the mums getting taken away in a police car to the police station for if you are reading or gifting this to younger users.

2.5/5 Cute but not what I expected. While I know it was a children's book it seemed to both be too realistic and too fantasy at the same time and the two vibes didn't really mesh. I was really interested in the children and their CB radio which we got very little of and less about the adults who don't want to do anything with one another (nor is there really much explanation of that as it seems to just be a plot device that gets conveniently sort of resolved in the end without any of them dealing with the adults outside of that specific circumstance).

Elves on the Fifth Floor by Francesca Cavallo was an easy to read, in one sitting, different Christmas story for children and adults both. I really enjoyed the premise and characters in the book and liked that there was no heavy handedness in either. I will definitely recommend this book for everyone.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

This was a hard book to review for me. I loved that it is a kids book that celebrates diverse families. It does it in a way that seems normal and natural, just like I think it should be. The mothers are loving parents. I thought that the blurb about the book was really interesting; kids who team up with an underground radio, elves, Santa, YES! However, I unfortunately felt this book didn't fully live up to the potential of its plot.

The city of R. is not well defined. The idea of nothing bad happening and people keeping to themselves was described, but really not explained. I don't know how you could move to such a black and white city and not know anything about it. It was an odd concept that felt incomplete. None of the characters really seemed to be fleshed out or distinctive. Considering that elves and Santa are involved in the book I expected it to feel more magical. However, that part of the plot was just told without really being explored. I mean, if you got a message about helping Santa wouldn't you be going wild? Plus, how was this a thing that happened that everyone accepted, but then no one else seemed to find believable?

I loved the concept of the book, but think it would have been even better with more detail to the characters and more reveal to the story. I would recommend this for kids, and would certainly look for more stories in this series if they come out.

There is so much love, compassion, kindness, wisdom and hope written into this story. Isabelle and Dominique are realistic and likeable as they work through a move to a new town with three children. Their relationship is natural and heartwarming. They are role models for the belief that Love of family is universal and isn't limited by gender.

There are so many talking points in this story and I found myself wanting to read it to a group of kids just for the joy of talking about the many elements that went into this story. How delightful is it to show families that find each other again during the holidays instead of the usual family quarrels?

I had no expectations starting this book and I'm happy to say that reading it has introduced me to a new author and illustrator. Santa and the elves don't overshadow but definitely play a big role in steering the story. Which will make it a fun read or listen for a wide age range. The illustrations are the perfect backdrop for the story and reflect the story's actions for younger readers/listeners.

This story both delighted and reminded me that love and hope are always available in our world, sometimes we just have to work harder to find it. The past couple of weeks (years, really) have left us all with the need to be reminded that love and miracles are out there if we're open to the possibilities.

This book has a wonderful story and draws you into the beautiful narration. Cavallo has a clever way of making ordinary life seem magical. From the start of the book, I was drawn in and absolutely wanted to know more.

I was given a copy by Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

I don't often read children's books, mostly because as a childless adult I feel like this is not really my wheelhouse. I do however love to see diverse books for all ages, and I love a good picture book. So when I saw this on Netgalley, under LGBTQIA, I had to grab it.

It turned out to be for a younger audience than I was expecting, on the lower end of Middle Grade, so that's something to think about if you're going to get it as a gift.

We're following a queer family who had to flee their country due to homophobia, and I appreciate that the author is being very honest about this while also obviously staying appropriate. These are discussions that we can and should have with kids. The anonymity of the city of R. also works very well to tell this kind of stories, too, I think. It could be anywhere.

What I did not see coming was that the police would be involved in this story, I mean from the blurb it was innocent enough, but the moms do get, if not arrested, then escorted to the police station in the back of a car, which... was not explicitly violent, but I suppose as an adult with an understanding of current events it hits as violent.

The story itself is cute other than this particular point, and the children - especially Olivia, with her inventions - are relatable and fun. Not to mention it's great to see queer families in kids' books - here with children who have two moms (and others who have two dads, monoparental families, etc). The illustrations are adorable throughout, I actually really liked the inclusion of two-tone illustrations in red and green (and black) as well as the full colour ones. It's a lovely and very short read for young children.

Thank you netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a review

This is the perfect story to read with kids in December while drinking hot cocoa.

As a 23yo, I'm clearly not the target audience for this book. And yet, I truly enjoyed reading it. The story is very cute, I loved the characters, the art inside is beautiful, the cast is diverse, and it's the type of story that I would have LOVED as a kid. I hope that this book gets translated to other languages so that I can gift it to kids in my family.

I enjoyed this as an escape read. Fun and entertaining I can see it appealing to many children. It would make an ideal story to be read and shared on winters evening while snuggles under blankets.

There are not enough books about caring, tight knit, diverse families. “Elves on the Fifth Floor” gives us a chance to meet 3 children and their moms at Christmas. Moving into the City of R. right before Christmas, the family enters adventures that they could not have imagined. Manuel, Camille, and Shonda work together with others and make a dent in the adults’ more serious issues stemming beyond the season. All the characters have even weight, making me wonder who really is saving the day. Problems encountered are wrapped up way too abruptly. Although the premise and care is rich, the lack of action and thick prose leave me wanting.

It felt wonderful to read a children's novel feature a diverse family with two mums.
The names of streets and elves were ver my cute and imaginative.
However the rest lacked a little something special. The characters didn't have much depth, even the story was pretty plain ...

The illustrations in this book are absolutely gorgeous. The story was interesting enough, but the writing style didn't vibe with me. I liked the characters, and thought the writer was a little lazy with setting names. Overall a solid 3 stars. I'd recommend getting it from your local library.

What a fun holiday book! This was a cute little holiday treat of a book. This book was full of so much Christmas joy it made me long for the season already. I can not wait till this book is out in stores and I can get it and read it to my sister during the festive season.