Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale by A.A. Cristi | Review, Giveaway, Author Interview
A book blog tour from iRead Book Tours.
Thank you to the author, publisher, & Lauren at iRead for providing me with the information for this tour. 
Book Details
Bruce the Spruce- A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees by A.A. Cristi Published by Mascot Books on 11/02/2021
Genres: Children's Picture Book, Fiction, Children's, Fairytale & Folklore Adaptations
Format: eBook, Hardcover
Pages: 56
Bruce the Spruce has Christmas all wrong.
Thanks to his fancy decorations and adoring admirers, this artificial spruce tree doesn’t just wear a star at Christmas, he is the star.
But when his longtime family gets a new tree, Bruce is sent on a whirlwind adventure through New York City. From a party in Brooklyn to a run-in with rats to a high-speed garbage truck ride down 5th Avenue, Bruce the Spruce takes an unforgettable holiday journey to discover the true meaning of Christmas trees.
Source: iRead Book Tours, Received from the author or publisher for review.
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Purchase Links for Bruce the Spruce
AppleBooks/iTunes The Book Depository
Mascot B&N
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My thoughts on Bruce the Spruce
Bruce the Spruce is an endearing children’s book with lessons for all ages on the true meaning of Christmas and Christmas trees.
Bruce has served his family well for the last 17 years. He’s come to believe he is the star of Christmas. When the family gets a new tree and sets him out for garbage, his journey begins.
First, he attends a party in Brooklyn, but it’s a one-night gig. Next, he offers himself as a shelter so rats during a snowstorm, but this doesn’t work out too well either. He then goes for a wild ride on top of a trash truck. Finally, he ends up with a new family, where he realizes his true place in the spirit of Christmas celebrations.
The pacing is great for a book aimed at younger children and the illustrations by Pablo Andreeta are beautifully done.
A.A. Cristi’s message is important and lovingly presented. This book will make a wonderful Holiday present.
I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.
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I love to read books through my Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription.
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About A.A. Cristi
A.A. Cristi was born and raised in the world capital of Christmas trees and musicals - New York City. By no small miracle, she has managed to make a living writing about both topics.
When she is not dreaming up fantastic adventures for inanimate objects, she is covering the Broadway industry as a journalist and editor at BroadwayWorld.com.
Though writing is her calling, her true passion is playing mother to a neurotic wiener dog named Jack and Aunt Rah Rah to two truly remarkable kids.
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Author Interview
If you could put yourself as a character in your book, who would you be?
Bruce, especially when I was younger. As a child and a teenager, I definitely had the idea, as so many of us do, that fame and fortune were the absolute pinnacles of success, and I idolized celebrities who had achieved that. As I’ve gotten older and my understanding of what is truly important has shifted, I have come to value life’s great intangibles more and more; the love of family, learning my own inherent value, finding contentment and even joy in the little things, and discovering that success comes in many forms, including simply finding one’s true purpose. There is a lot of me in Bruce and I’ve learned so much about myself in telling his story.
In your book, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a main character, how did you come up with this idea?
Earlier versions of the story had Bruce meeting other Christmas trees. These trees would come from other boroughs in New York City and had various other Christmas tree jobs. When deciding what sorts of fellow NYC trees Bruce would meet and what their jobs would be, inspiration struck to include the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. There is no tree in the world more famous or with a more important job than Rocky.
As the story evolved away from the other trees, I began to tie Bruce’s misguided notions about being adored to Rocky’s fame. I figured since Bruce lives in the living room, he would spend a good amount of time watching television, including the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center. At that point, I decided that she would be Bruce’s idol and that we could bring his tale to the most iconic NYC Christmas landmark there is Rockefeller Center.
How did you do research for your book?
Since the majority of Bruce’s story is pulled from my own life and family history, you would think there wasn’t a ton of research to be done. But with a journey as expansive as Bruce’s, there were certain logistics that needed to be figured out.
Since Bruce is an inanimate object, he can’t just walk from place to place, so I needed to figure out how to get him where he needs to go, which is where his various rides come into play. He also needed to arrive at numerous real-life locations, so all of that travel needed to be geographically correct. I studied some maps of the city and subways to ensure that the trajectory of his adventure was accurate.
There were also certain details necessary to bring the character of Rocky, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to life. I did some studying of her history and current stats in terms of her height and the number of lights it takes to make her shine bright to create her character.
What is the last great book you’ve read?
Over the summer I read a wonderful novel called The Guncle by Seven Rowley. It is a modern spin on the Auntie Mame stories and tells the story of Patrick, a gay former television star who takes in his niece and nephew, Maisie and Grant, after the passing of their mother. In addition to being a very positive bit of representation for the LGBTQ+ community, at its heart, it is a truly entertaining and sweet story full of loveable characters. After all that we’ve been through for nearly two years now, spending time in such a sensitively wrought world, full of kindness and acceptance was just what the doctor ordered. I have my fingers crossed for a sequel!
What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done?
When I’m not creating stories, I work as a journalist and editor for BroadwayWorld.com, reporting on all things within the Broadway industry. It was a long road to achieving my dream of working on Broadway and an even longer one to becoming an author. As a young person who expressed a passion for Broadway and writing, I was told time and time again how challenging and competitive those fields can be and many people suggested that I reconsider.
Despite all their warnings, I knew what was in my soul and I pursued them anyway. I am most proud of having not been discouraged by the risks and following my heart and passions to do work that makes my heart sing and create a life that I love living every day.
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Giveaway!
Enter to win a signed copy of Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees by A. A. Cristi! (one winner/USA only) (ends Dec 17)
BRUCE THE SPRUCE Book Tour Giveaway
Please visit more stops on the tour for extra chances to win!
Full Tour Schedule
Nov 22 – Cover Lover Book Review – book review/giveaway
Nov 22 – Laura’s Interests – book review/giveaway
Nov 23 – fundinmental – book spotlight/giveaway
Nov 23 – Splashes of Joy – book review/giveaway
Nov 24 – Bigreadersite – book review/giveaway
Nov 24 – The Pen and Muse Book Reviews – book review/giveaway
Nov 26 –A Mama’s Corner of the World – book review/giveaway
Nov 26 – The Momma Spot – book review/giveaway
Nov 26 –Sefina Hawke’s Books – book spotlight
Nov 29 – Older & Smarter? – book review/giveaway
Nov 29 – Pick a Good Book – book review/author interview/giveaway
Nov 30 – Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting – book review/guest post/giveaway
Nov 30 – Westveil Publishing – book review/giveaway
Dec 1 – Kam’s Place – book review
Dec 1 – icefairy’s Treasure Chest – book review/giveaway
Dec 1 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review/guest post/giveaway
Dec 2 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review/author interview/giveaway
Dec 2 – Lisa’s Reading – book review/giveaway
Dec 3 – @twilight_reader – book review
Dec 6 – I’m Into Books – book review/giveaway
Dec 6 – Bound 4 Escape – book review/giveaway
Dec 7 – The Phantom Paragrapher – book review
Dec 8 – Sandra’s Book Club – book review
Dec 8 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review/giveaway
Dec 9 – Chit Chat with Charity – book review/author interview/giveaway
Dec 9 – Literary Flits – book spotlight/giveaway
Dec 10 – Writer with Wanderlust – book review/guest post/giveaway
Dec 10 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review/giveaway
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Purchase Bruce the Spruce online from a local book store.
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Easy Amazon Links
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Thank you sincerely for your kind words about “Bruce the Spruce!” I am thrilled that you enjoyed your holiday adventure in NYC! Wishing you much joy this holiday season! Shine bright!