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Samantha Des Jardins has loved books ever since she was just knee high. Her dad would read to her every night and she would find the hidden mouse on every page of her favorite story. Now, a grown up, Samantha lives in Napa, California, with her husband Joey, daughter Ena, and sidekick puppy Bailey. She has worked as a preschool teacher since 2008, receiving her Masters in Early Childhood Education August of 2017. Sticky the Elf is her first published children's story.
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite
All the elves at the North Pole have a special job assigned just to them. Some of the elves make the toys; some of the elves do the baking and make the special Christmas dinner; some of the elves work hard to restore Santa’s sleigh so it’s ready for the Christmas Eve journey around the world. You can only imagine what Sticky’s job would be. With a name like his, he has to be the candy maker. In fact, he’s so good at his job that he usually finishes all the candies by September. One year, with his job done, he decided to help the other elves with their jobs. Only he didn’t ask first. And, he wasn’t very good at what he didn’t know how to do. And, when Santa’s Naughty List disappears, you can imagine how worried Sticky is.
Samantha Des Jardins’s picture book story, Sticky the Elf, is a charming Christmas treasure. A cleverly constructed plot leads the young reader through Sticky’s many misadventures at trying to be helpful. Using simple language to appeal to youngsters and lots of humorous situations, the young reader will definitely enjoy this story and the lessons to be learned. The key message is that it’s good and generous to be helpful, but perhaps best to ask first to learn how to do a job properly so the turkey isn’t stuffed with bags of sugar and the restored sleigh doesn’t look like a candy cane. The colorful illustrations help move the story along. A lovely book to share with young readers at Christmas time.
