Holidays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George

Back in October of 2011, I read Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George, and it charmed and delighted me. From my review -- "I will start by saying that this is the best castle I have ever met in my whole life."  As the series progressed, the action moved away from the castle to distant lands and seas, and there were many magical adventures.  I enjoyed these books, but not with the same warm fondness I had for the first, and so it was a treat to go back to the castle for the festivities of the Longest Night, in Holidays at the Castle (September 22, 2026 by Bloomsbury Children's Books).

At first I was overwhelmed by the large cast of characters; almost everyone we met in the earlier books has come to the castle to celebrate, and it's a tad chaotic. Celie is still front and center, though, helping to ground me.  More chaos erupts when the castle griffins start behaving with horrible aggression, except for Celie's own and one other.  And before the reason why can be found, Celie has to head out into a blizzard to save a friend lost in the snow...

And then the castle saves the day and gets to work making sure that the winter festivities are the best ever! Yay!  Warmth and community and gifts and good food and lots of magic ftw.

If you have a young reader who's never met Celie and her castle, start them now, and give this one as a gift at your own winter holiday!

disclaimer-review copy received from the publisher