The name’s Claus, Ms Claus, and she’s going to shake (not stir) your beliefs about Christmas. It was two girls, Blanche Claus and her friend Rinki, who invented the global one-night present distribution system. When we meet Blanche, she’s an orphan living under a bridge, and she’s not that into Christmas. It takes the enthusiasm of another waif, Rinki, bedecked in cast-off fripperies, to inspire Blanche's dreams of a Yuletide mission to give a present to each child all over the world on Christmas Eve. Things don’t go straightforward (as if they would!), but the girls remain loyal friends.
This story wafted through me the warm orange and cinnamon glow of Christmas. It was as peppy as a peppermint stick in a mug of hot chocolate, as thrilling as an aerial sleigh ride and as gaudy as a bauble. Sibéal Pounder (Bad Mermaids) crafts a delicious Christmas tale and kicks the patriarchy into touch in this small book.
In her retelling, an orphan named Blanche and her waiflike friend Rinki invent tinsel and Christmas in the spirit of human kindness and generosity. Santa gets a nod as a loveable mince pie baking supporter. Blanche and Santa get shipwrecked and wind up in a frozen northern area called Carolburg full of elves named Carol. Soon Blanche’s plan for worldwide present delivery starts to take form but not without some serious villainy at the dastardly hands of fake news king Krampus.
The setting is Victorian London which will work well with middle grade readers who will be learning about Victorian times. There is a sneaky cameo of Queen Victoria herself and the author brings the streets of London to life, warts and all, using all the senses for world-building. There’s a cheeky fashion designer to mentor Rinki in her budding aspirations that will be shared by many readers. There are some things that don’t quite fit (Velcro) but adds to the magical can-do feel. Objects create a framework that hold the story together – chimneys, horses, Boudicca, baubles, cooking – and Sibéal should get an award for best use of a Brussel Sprout! There are tense and sad moments to offset the saccharine boppiness and naïveté, creating a well-rounded tale that will seize imaginations at bedtime, Yuletide, and beyond. The author adds in some historical detail for the factmonster and also a sensible warning about the harmful effects of tinsel on planet Earth.
If you liked the film Frozen, and have wished for more uplifting sisterhood stories, this will fill the bill. I enjoyed the book. In fact, I reread it post-Christmas and it has made me so jolly that I’m in my Christmas jumper and longing for my own mince pie picnic.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC.

I very much enjoyed this cute Christmas Tale. I'm going to put it out there and predict that this will become a Christmas classic that will be enjoyed year after year.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the heartwarming tale of the real story behind the origin of Christmas. Ideal for all, it captures the strong love and sense of belonging that friendship brings and how even when separated by worlds, knowing you have a friend makes the impossible possible. 
Full of girl power, magic and an elf that you wouldn’t want to upset, Tinsel is a book not just for Christmas.

After having this recommended by a friend I saw it was here on netgalley! What a great twist on this Christmas tale. A strong female read was great to see and the tiny flourishes of how Christmas came to be was wonderful to unravel!

This book was absolutely adorable. I really enjoyed the premise of the story and how the story was executed. A lot of fun for kids but also makes you think as an adult as well. Great adventure with some great friendships and important lessons for children too. Highly recommend.

Tinsel is the perfect festive adventure. The story is told in a fresh and exciting voice and we meet a new, strong female character here. Mince pie picnics will surely we popular this Christmas. Undoubtedly a new Christmas classic.. Sibeal was fabulous in a virtual author visit too.

Sibeal Pounder has written a Christmas classic for the 21st century.  This book is full of festive fun, mince pie picnics, friendship and feminism, a real Christmas treat. Enter Blanche Claus, an orphan living on the streets of Victorian London and her best friend Rinki. Tinsel tells us where we have been going wrong all these years, it is a real joy to to read and had me laughing  aloud at times.

The perfect book to redress the male bias that has pervaded Christmas for years, a joy that celebrates friendship and festivities.  Very highly recommended.

4☆ Enchanting, Magical, Witty, Fun Festive Read!


Tinsel is a Heartwarming and Enchanting Christmas Middle Grade Read. 

This story is all about Mrs Claus and Christmas. It's a magical adventure with lots of mischief, fun and Christmas Sparkle. 

This story is also very empowering to women as it teaches children what it was like for women and how they wasn't treated equally. It teaches children the value of friendship and kindness.and treating people with respect. 

The characters are simply enchanting and beautifully presented. The plot is whimsical, and special. There's so much going on and discoveries to be made.
There is plenty of witty humour that kept me giggling out loud, that children will love! 

So if you are looking for a Whimsical, Funny, Enchanting, Uplifting, Festive Treat then you will adore Tinsel.

This is a really sweet middle grade novel about Blanche Claus and the idea that the story we all know about Santa is wrong! I found this such a lovely, escapist read and really enjoyed it. I would have adored this book when I was younger, it’s always fun to read an alternative origin story for Father Christmas and this one has lots of magic, adventures and twists and I would recommend it to anyone who has young children.

Blanche Claus usually spends Christmas Day alone, counting down the seconds until the wretched day is over, until one Christmas an old lady hands her a mysterious glowing red bauble, which appears to contain a dancing Christmas Tree! When Blanche meets an exciting new friend called Rinki, who dresses in abandoned bits of Christmas and has been waiting for someone to share a mince pie picnic with, her Christmasses will never quite be the same. Skip forward a couple of years, and a downtrodden Blanche, who has been disguised as a boy and working as a carter, takes on a special commission from the Captain of the Jolly Holly to deliver a very important box to Stratton Street quick sharp, and who should she bump into again, but her friend Rinki. Sharing another mince pie picnic, the girls hatch a plan to change Christmas for all children all over the world forever! 
Tinsel is without a doubt the best take on the Santa story I have ever read, bar none. Many authors take on our classic tales of the man in the red suit, with varying results, but Sibeal’s feisty, feminist take is one I have already shared with my Year 5 Class, and will continue to share with the children I teach and my own children for years to come. Sibeal has taken the classic elements of Christmas, those threads which weave together to create the festive fun, and unpicked them one by one, to give a new and original take on each individual one. Blanche and Rinki are such incredible, strong female leads, supported by a cast of diverse and representative characters. I adored Teddy and Captain Garland, and the Carols, but I think my absolute favourite was Eggnog! In the shadows, Mr Krampus makes a sinister fiend, threatening the girls’ plan at every turn. From tinsel itself to Snowcus Pocus, Sibeal has left no Christmas cracker unturned in her beautifully written festive tale full of friendship, determination, imagination, magic, humour and fun! This will become an absolute must for the festive season.

Tinsel is a lovely Christmas read. Perfect for children and adults who like a story with magic, adventure and determination. I would definitely recommend reading this on a cold winter evening, snuggled under a warm blanket, sitting by a Christmas tree with shiny red baubles!

This is a gorgeous book which we have thoroughly enjoyed reading in the run up to Christmas. It is a perfect wintery read for snuggling up and slurping hot choccy as you listen. Full of magic and adventure. My 8 and 10 year olds loved it.

This was such a brilliant festive story that highlighted the true magic of Christmas.
Blanche Claus is an orphan who dreams of bigger things than the life she leads in London as a carter. When she receives a magic bauble from a mysterious stranger, her world begins to change. Blanche soon finds herself in an unusual position and she, Rinki, Santa, and all of the Carols, prepare to make Christmas a magical time for every child in the world.
I enjoyed all the different elements that we got in this story, with the Elves also being faeries depending on the temperature, Eggnog the dancing Fir tree and Rudy the lovely horse! It made me laugh out loud, scared and even angry at parts which is definitely a sign of a good book. I also loved that the Epilogue tells you how bad Tinsel is for the environment and that Carol (the inventor) wants you, the reader, to come up with an environmentally friendly substitute. 
I read this book in one day because I couldn't put it down. If you want a fast paced festive Middlegrade book then this is definitely one that you should pick up!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book. It's one that I'll be re-reading year after year and I'll be recommending it to anyone who wants a feminist Christmas tale.

Blance and Rinki have big plans for the world but as girls in a boys world will they be able to achieve them? And if they do will anybody believe it was a pair of girls?

This gave me proper Christmas vibes, it was brilliant. So festive and full of magic. I loved the characters, both Blanche and Rinki were wonderfully rounded. Blance especially was so determined and brave, I was behind her 100% of the way. Rinki and her adoptive parents were also a delight and I loved all of their relationships. 

I would highly recommend this book, it had everything you could need to be a new festive favourite.

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Almost every middle grade book I have read includes a message of morality to deliver to its young readers and this is especially so of Christmas stories. This one was no exception.

The duo who centred this story had a limitless belief in their future success and an unlimited supply of imagination, hard work ethics, and heart in order to achieve it. One of my favourite quotes from the book was "One day things will be different... One day the world will imagine more of girls. We'll make sure of it!" Whilst obviously focusing on a fictional duo, and being extremely fantastical in nature, this also ensured it reminded its readers of all our ancestors who have fought for the freedom we receive today, in a myriad of areas. The fight obviously still exists but at least a little more equality exists, than in the Victorian period Blanche and Rinki reside in.

This proved to be as empowering as it was heart-warming and was the perfect little slice of Christmas spirit and cheer I needed to help close off the hard year 2020 has been, for us all, and to put it into perspective.

I read #Tinsel by @Sibealpounder on #NetGalley & absolutely adore it, will definitely have to be in Bea's #BookAdvent in a couple of years - girls *can* do anything! https://t.co/NwbzP1lIL4

This book was sent to me via Netgalley in order to provide an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this opportunity. 

I have had this book for a while, and I have been leaving it until December so it can be one of my christmassy reads. I am so glad I did and it did not disappoint. I sat down to start this book this morning, just to read a couple of chapters, a couple of hours later I finished it feeling christmassy, and warm inside. What a wonderful book. 

I love how wholesome the characters are and how happy that made me feel. There were so many humorous moments that I feel were added in for the adult reader which is something I love to see in this genre of book. I think it had such an important underlying message for the target audience of this book. Tinsel shows that girls can achieve what they like, no matter what society puts in their way they can achieve what they want as long as they have belief and put their mind to it. I think this was so so important and portrayed in such a wonderful way. 

I loved it, and I think everyone should read it!

MUST BE MADE INTO A MOVIE!! This heart-warming tale puts a clever spin on the myths and magic surrounding Christmas, with themes of friendship, equality and kindness.  My class of 9-11 year olds loved it from start to finish, with just the right amount of suspense and magic.

If you know me, you will know that I am huge Christmas lover and am always on the lookout for festive to books read in the run-up to my favourite holiday. When I heard about Tinsel I was automatically intrigued. A feminist tale about the girls who invented Christmas? Yes, please! After settling down with a cup of Christmas coffee, a candle and Christmas lights I got stuck into this book.

Tinsel follows Blanche Claus and her friend Rinki who after forming a strong friendship over a mince pie feast, are taken on an incredible adventure involving elves, reindeer, a giant tree, sleigh rides and friendship. With the world believing Santa Claus is a man, can Blanche, Rinki and their new friends prove that it was all just a misunderstanding and that, the girls in fact invented Christmas.

Tinsel was such a heartwarming, beautiful read that brought me such joy. From the very first page, you start to feel all warm, cosy and festive inside and are left longing for the feeling Christmas gives you. The setting of 1800’s London brings a historical element to the story, with just some magic added that I lapped up. The way the story is written brings the magic to life in such a colourful way, and I for one was left wishing for some of the very same magic to be brought into my life.

The story itself is complete bonkers but perfectly right for this type of book. You are taken on such an incredible adventure, and meet some wacky, but lovable characters along the way. I enjoyed being taken to the North Pole and meeting all of the Carols the best, and I must admit I found myself giggling at their antics. The little signs of Christmas traditions and myths that were scattered throughout the book brought a sense of uniqueness and I often found myself smiling at these little nods. Also, the way the story was trying to tell us that we’d got the myth of Santa Clause wrong completely stood out to me, and I adored it.

Blanche and Rinki were two girls who knew what they wanted and did everything they could to get it. At the start of the story, we saw Blanche wanting to prove that girls were just as able as boys, and we followed her on her journey to achieving that. Come to the end of the story and Blanche is a strong, fierce, determined young woman, that girls could look up too. Rinki was Blanche’s right-hand woman and a great friend. She helped Blanche achieve her ultimate goal, and brought the same amount of female power to the story as Blanche. Blanche and Rinki are true feminist icons for young girls everywhere.

Tinsel was a wondrous, imaginative, joyous read that had me feeling all cosy and incredibly festive. It’s a tale that, I believe will soon become a modern Christmas classic with children everywhere and one that I will be sure to revisit every year.

This was a great festive read!
 What a unique take on the beginnings of Christmas, still with nods to the traditions we believe now,  a very clever idea.
 I found the friendship in this book lovely and inspiring, I would have loved to have a friendship like blanche and riki.
 Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to.read an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.