24 Stories for Advent

The duo behind the Davy series presents a collection of stories to be read during Advent. Tales of dwarves, trolls, and animals mix with contemporary adventures, Santa-themed stories, and more; a family of gnomes reappears in a handful of stories. Only a few stories invoke the Christian aspects of Christmas, and even those are decidedly nontraditional. In the penultimate tale, animals help clean a stable for the Son of Heaven; when they later peer into the crib, “because each of them was thinking of his or her own children, the birds saw a chick, the deer saw a fawn... and the wolf saw a cub.” The stories span roughly three to four pages each, joined by graceful images from Tharlet, which capably emphasize the comical and poignant moments within. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)