Book Review: Humbug – A Christmas Carol

My daughter is very creative. At the beginning of December, she decided that her holiday advent calendar was going to be a Christmas book reading list for her and my son. I thought this was a wonderful idea and we quickly drafted her list on the computer and she has done a wonderful job reading through the list this month. Our latest addition to the list is a book entitled, “Humbug: A Christmas Carol”, written by Lee Baker and illustrated by Kienan Lafferty.

Synopsis of the book:
“Humbug: A Christmas Carol” is about a freezing cold, dark, gloomy town called Winterton, whose citizens are cold, miserable, and never smile. Christmas is not celebrated. A young orphan girl, Mimi, enters the town. She is not like these citizens in that she smiles and is friendly. She is also unique in that she has Humbugs as pets. Humbugs are bugs that hum, which attracts reindeer and ultimately brings Santa. “Humbug” is a story about the girl’s experience in town and her impact on the town collectively.

My thoughts on the book:
Upon taking “Humbug” out of the package, I gasped because I was so impressed by the illustrations. I just stared and stared at the detail of them all. This story is a beautiful story about Christmas. My daughter really enjoyed listening to the story. Although she is eight-years-old, a phenomenal reader, and can read the book, she preferred that I read the book to her because it was a bit more lengthy for her to read in one sitting than what she is used to. We thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the bugs’ humming draws the attention of the reindeer and thought that this was extremely creative for the story. I thought this book was very unique and beautifully written.

About the Author:
Lee Baker is the president of Sandman Studios (www.sandmanstudios.com) a visual effects and animation company. Lee has taught courses at UCLA Extension, Loyola Marymount University, the University of Utah and the Utah Education Network in the subjects of English, Writing, Educational Technology and Digital Video Editing. Lee earned a degree in English at the University of Utah and currently lives in Utah with his wife and four children.

About the Illustrator:
Kienan Lafferty is talented artist at Sandman Studios and has worked on a variety of projects including Nanovor, The Littlest Pet Shop video game, and many upcoming feature films.

*Disclaimer: I did not receive monetary compensation for this post. I received a free copy of the book for the purpose of this review. The opinions expressed here are my own.