Coralie: The Cotton Candy Angel Book Review

On my almost daily search for new children’s book authors, I discovered a beautiful and magical tale, Coralie: The Cotton Candy Angel by Julie Hanson. Now there’s nothing more majestic than angels and fluffy cotton candy – So I just had to take a peek at this book. Before we get onto the book review, let us introduce you to the author and illustrator of this magical story, Julie Hanson.

About The Author – Julie Hanson:

Julie Hanson loves to create fun and silly characters. After years of experience as a crafter, her desire to create took a new direction. It was after she retired that she was able to devote much of her time to her passion to write children’s books.  She believes that the world of make-believe sparks a child’s imagination to be creative.  Inspired by her grandchildren, Julie makes every effort to bring out that sense of wonder and excitement in her writing. She is also the illustrator of her books and enjoys writing poetry.

Julie was born and raised in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, a quaint town frequented by tourists. Cedarburg is known for their shops, local artists and festivals.  Julie and her husband made their home in Grafton, only minutes from her hometown.  They have two sons, three grandchildren and a grandson who is their guardian angel. When she’s not writing or illustrating you can find Julie with her family or working in the garden.

Story Overview:

The story is about a young angel named Coralie who seems to create chaos everywhere in Heaven while trying to earn her wings. After feeling slightly disheartened at her efforts, she looks down from Heaven and sees her best friend trusting a stranger. Now taking her role as an angel seriously, she prays for help. And help comes in the form of a white dove named Deezle Dove. Together they create a plan to help Coralie’s best friend to stay safe. On her journey, she learns many valuable lessons, such as being responsible, following the rules and of course, never trusting strangers. This certainly will be a favourite for children everywhere.

Book Review:

What drew me first to this book was of course the illustration of an angel in a pink dress, sitting on fluffy clouds. This illustration was certainly unique and would appeal to both children and grownups. Then there’s the tag line, “Learning about trusting strangers” – This is a big bonus for all you parents out there, as we all want to teach our children how to be safe when they’re out and about. Making it a great read, whether you’re at home or at school.

When opening the book there’s a lot of nice little touches, like a space to write your child’s name and even a lovely rhyming poem about trusting strangers which will definitely appeal to younger children. But what most stood out to me, was the dedication page, which includes a heartfelt poem titled, Whispers of an Angel. This poem was written in the memory of the author’s grandson who lost his life. This inclusion alone makes this book a stand out, as so many readers would be able to relate to this story and you can really feel the author’s heart and soul when reading this poem.

As I continued to read the book, I thought the overall story was definitely unique and fun to read. The illustrations throughout the book are simply wonderful, especially how they help bring the words in the story to life. Younger readers will also enjoy reading about the chaos Coralie creates in Heaven at beginning of the story and her attempts to earn her wings.

Although the story is very powerful in its message, if I had to suggest one improvement it would be to focus more on the stranger. We do feel that this part of the story could have done with a tiny bit more explanation to make kids really understand the dangers of speaking to strangers.

Final Book Ratings:

Overall, we would highly recommend parents, especially those with younger children (aged 6 or under) to read this wonderful story to their children. Older children may not fully appreciate the writing style of the story.

Imagination: 7/10

Illustrations: 10/10

Writing: 7/10

Message: 9/10

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

You can purchase a copy of Coralie: The Cotton Candy Angel from Amazon.