The Return of the Christmas Witch

by Aubrey Plaza, Dan Murphy, Julia Iredale (Illustrator)

Overview

In the much-anticipated follow-up to the bestselling The Legend of the Christmas Witch, Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza and creative partner Dan Murphy's fiery heroine has returned. . . and this time she's taking on Christmas.

By now you’ve heard the legend, all but forgotten, of Santa Claus’s twin sister. Many years ago, this shadowy figure followed in Santa’s footsteps, searching for him while leaving odd gifts of her own. One fateful night, they finally came face-to-face, and she hasn’t been heard from since. Until now . . .

The Christmas Witch has returned.

After centuries trapped in her icy chamber, the snow is finally melting, and Kristtörn awakens. She finds that the holiday she loved is now controlled by the mysterious Kringle Corporation. She embarks on a journey to a world unknown to her, where she meets the inventive young Poppy and sweet old reindeer Donner, who agree to help her restore Christmas to its former glory. Little do they know that she wants more than order . . . she wants revenge.

In the highly anticipated follow-up to the bestselling The Legend of the Christmas Witch, award-winning producer and actress Aubrey Plaza and her creative partner Dan Murphy give the true spirit of Christmas a modern and wonderfully witchy twist.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593350836
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	56
Sales rank:	174,541
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Aubrey Plaza, originally from Delaware, is best known for her role as April Ludgate on Parks and Recreation. She has produced and starred in several films, as well as performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York. She currently lives in California and is known to dress up like a witch every Christmas.

Dan Murphy is a writer and producer who lives in Los Angeles, California. Originally from Delaware, he is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and has been creative partners with Aubrey for over fifteen years.

Julia Iredale is an illustrator from Victoria, British Columbia. She studied illustration at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and now spends her time painting, making books, and, whenever possible, escaping into the magic forests of the Canadian West Coast.

Editorial Reviews

08/12/2022

Gr 3–5—The saga of Santa's twin Kristtörn, the Christmas Witch, continues in this second installment of Plaza and Murphy's fairy tale-esque narrative. When Kristtörn wakes after centuries buried deep in ice, she discovers a world she doesn't recognize. Christmas has been co-opted by a cold and sterile conglomerate known as the Kringle Corporation. Meanwhile, in a faraway household, a young girl named Poppy argues with her family that Santa is a fraud, and that her father's awful company—the abovementioned Kringle—has ruined Christmas. While Kristtörn searches for her brother, Poppy searches for meaning in the holiday. Their stories intertwine after Poppy observes Kristtörn in the woods and begins to leave her gifts. Inspired by the witch's mysticism, Poppy seeks to learn more about Santa and Christmas from her grandmother and discovers the Christmas Witch's legend. Kristtörn finds her brother, and an epic sibling conflict ensues. Santa didn't sell out Christmas; he felt forgotten in the commercialization of the holiday. This story is positively labyrinthine, switching in and out of mystical dreams and "reality." The illustrations are colorful and evoke early European fairy tales; while they match the story in theme, overall they feel pedestrian. VERDICT The length and complexity of the text, combined with a meandering plot, will require older readers with a deep well of patience. Recommended for libraries only where the first book was wildly popular with patrons.—Jennifer Noonan

School Library Journal

2022-08-17
Author Murphy and actor Plaza’s follow-up to The Legend of the Christmas Witch (2021) sees the titular character entering the modern world.

After hundreds of years sleeping in ice, Kristtörn, the Christmas Witch and the sister of Santa Claus, awakens to find she is alone and has lost her magical powers. After walking through a blizzard, she is welcomed indoors by a worker at Kringle Headquarters, a corporation that has replaced Santa Claus. While the Christmas Witch finds a spot to sleep in the woods, a girl named Poppy causes a ruckus at home, ridiculing her brother for believing in Santa. When Poppy discovers Kristtörn in the nearby woods, she leaves food and clothing for her, and Kristtörn leaves her gifts from the natural world in return. But as Kristtörn discovers more upsetting realities of the modern era and recovers her magic, she blames her brother for abandoning Christmas and decides to seek vengeance, making everyone pay. Santa arrives barely in time to stem the tide of his sister’s violent rage and save Christmas. This tale’s commentary on the commercialization of holidays is overshadowed by the destructive woman’s rage, leaving readers to decipher layered messages about capitalism and anger; those unfamiliar with the first book will have an especially hard time doing so. Iredale’s illustrations have a classic fairy-tale feel, with tones of white, brown, and forest green. Kristtörn and Santa are light-skinned; Poppy is tan-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Strictly for fans of the character’s first outing. (Picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews