Review Detail

Candy Corn Christmas

Kids Fiction 533

Sweet and Striped Holiday Adventure

October 11, 2025 (Updated: June 23, 2026)

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

A leftover bunch of candy corn lingers in a plastic pumpkin in the pantry with baking supplies. They are all rather sad until they realize that Christmas cheer is in the air. They venture out and find a winter wonderland of snowflakes, trees, and reindeer, and meet a sugarplum who tells them that it is Christmas. Let loose from their confines, the candy corn take full advantage of the delights of the season and cause a lot of chaos, sliding down the roof of the gingerbread house and crawling up the tree. A bossy candy cane takes umbrage at their antics and tells them to scream. Disheartened, the corn prepare to leave, but Santa comes down the chimney just in time! He reminds the Christmas candy that there is room enough for everyone, and after a frightening nibble at one of the candies, declares that they are sticky, striped, and sweet just like candy canes. Feeling welcome, the candy corn participate in the holiday activities a bit more calmly, and help their new friends decorate the tree.

Good Points

Told in well crafted verse, this is an absolutely delightful book that will bear multiple rereadings between Halloween and Christmas. I am super picky about poetry, and this absolutely passed the "read out loud" test. There are clever rhymes, fun word choices, and phrases that are destined to become family favorites. Even though I enjoy a bit of seasonal candy corn, I can see "They were the candy time forgot. They did not mold. They did not rot." working it's way into my grandchildrens's parlance. Especially when they find out that I have a bag of Thanksgiving Dinner flavored candy corn from 2021 in my freezer!

Fenske has illustrated many books, including Perl's Carrot and Cookie books and his own I Will Race You Through This Book, so the illustrations are rich with details that will make young readers giggle. From the Muffin Man mix on the pantry shelves to the candy corn cannon balling into a cup of eggnog, there are all sorts of amusing gags and references. The candy corn all have expressions on their face, and it's necessary to look at all of them to see what other stories are unfolding.

Clearly, there should be more Christmas books about sentient candy. Lacking those, you can read this along with Scarry's classic The Sweet Scent of Christmas or edgier, humorous holiday themed books like Sharff's When Santa Came to Stay or Ardagh's Bunnies in a Sleigh.