Holidays at the Castle (Tuesdays at the Castle #5.5)
Jessica Day George
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Published September 22, 2026

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About Holidays at the Castle

In a special holiday addition to New York Times bestselling author Jessica Day George’s magical series, Celie celebrates winter in her beloved Castle!

After traveling to new lands and across seas, Celie is thrilled to be home at her beloved Castle for the winter holidays. From the delicious feasts and beautiful decorations to the gift exchanges and amazing magical displays, the holidays are the best time of the year! Celie can’t wait to celebrate with the rest of the Glower family and their special guests, the royals of Grath.

But the night before the festivities begin, the griffins start acting out, chasing the other animals and snapping at anyone who approaches. The holidays are meant to bring everyone together, but with all the chaos and a blizzard rolling in, will they still be able to celebrate?

My Review

I remember reading the first book in this series with my older daughter years ago. It was fun to revisit Celie and her family as they celebrate winter holidays in this book.

Fans of the series will have lots to love here. The beloved castle still finds ways to help when Celie needs it most. The large cast of family members, in-laws, and visitors makes the holiday celebration feel full and inclusive. Though the celebration isn’t called Christmas, it has many similarities, including feasting and a gift exchange that Celie especially looks forward to. The celebration also has a connection to Celie’s personal spiritual belief in a Creator God.

At 131 pages, Holidays at the Castle is a very quick read. The mystery surrounding the griffins’ wild behavior drives the story forward pretty quickly. Some of the earlier pages fill readers in on the Castle’s history and Celie’s family’s adventures from other books in the series. Though this book will be enjoyed more as part of a series, I think it could be read and enjoyed alone as well.

All in all, this is a nice winter adventure that will be perfect on a chilly evening.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 11.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to her older siblings’ wedding plans or relationship intentions.

Spiritual Content
The story contains mythical creatures like griffins and unicorns. The castle has some magical abilities. References to a Creator God and celebration of faith.

Violent Content
Griffins start attacking one another and other animals.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.