Candy Corn Christmas! by Jonathan Fenske

Y’all, there’s nothing quite like blearily turning to the last book you plan to review before Christmas and discovering that it might truly be the weirdest thing you’ve read all year.

Picture this: it’s one in the morning on Christmas Eve Eve and you’ve made enough of a dent in your emails that you’ll only have a hundred or so more to go through in the daytime (in your Inbox, anyway. You shudder to think of the state of your Promotions folder.) You figure, “Hey, I have time to quickly read this kids’ book I’ve been saving for the occasion” and pick up the brightly illustrated volume, figuring it’ll be a fun mishmash of Halloween and Christmas traditions. After all, its title is Candy Corn Christmas! It should be short and sweet, right?

Well, it’s certainly short! And there are a lot of sweets in it, as a miniature army of candy corn languishes in the pantry, unloved and forgotten now that Halloween is over. But strange sounds and smells lure them out of their, ahem, resting place, and off to the living room, where they discover the most magical night of all: Christmas!

The living room is decked out with all sorts of Christmas lights and decorations and sweets. The candy corn swarm over it all, to the chagrin of the actual Christmas treats. The candy corn are loud and messy and disruptive in their excitement. Candy Cane finally has enough, yelling at them to go home. They’ve already had their holiday, now shoo! But a visitor shows up to remind everyone of the true meaning of Christmas, more or less.

Much like candy corn itself, the book is sweet and odd and a little disturbing but also mostly harmless if you think about it. The story is told in rhyming verse, with delightfully vivid illustrations throughout. I think younger readers would actually lean in to the weirdness: I know I certainly would have, as the savage little child I once was!

And honestly, what can one expect from a mishmash of two very different holidays? The most famous fictional mash-up prior to this book leaned heavily into the Gothic aspect of Halloween and the darkness of midwinter. Candy Corn Christmas! is far more colorful and voracious, with an excellent underlying message about culture and acceptance (I could probably write a few more paragraphs on the allegory here for the solidarity of the proletariat under capitalism, but I’ll spare y’all this time.) This picture book is a fun read for anyone who uncomplicatedly loves the sweet treats of both occasions, and perhaps a necessary read for anyone needing to be reminded of the true spirit of Christmas.

Candy Corn Christmas! by Jonathan Fenske was published September 9 2025 by Little Simon and is available from all good booksellers, including