A restless elf trades North Pole snow for Australian sunshine in an upcoming rhyming picture book by author Travis Gerardi and illustrator Adelle Laporte.
Tinsel has had enough of Christmas.
There is always another toy to finish, another task to complete, and another day of the same routine. Beyond the North Pole workshop, a whole world is waiting and Tinsel would much rather explore it.
In Tinsel’s Tropical Tale: A Not-So Christmas Story, author Travis Gerardi sends one dissatisfied elf on a holiday escape that takes an unexpected turn. With Canadian illustrator Adelle Laporte bringing the characters and settings to life, the book is planned for release on November 11, 2027, through Tiny Seeds & Tall Tales.
From the Workshop to the Wider World
Famous landmarks, far away destinations, and a beachside break offer Tinsel the excitement he has been craving. For once, his days can be about something other than Christmas.
But the work he left behind has a way of catching up with him.
When Tinsel discovers Christmas toys being delivered incomplete, he recognizes the missing finishing touches as his own unfinished work. The details he once found tedious suddenly matter much more when he sees what happens without them.
His getaway becomes a chance to reconsider his place in the workshop and decide what to do next. Beneath the humor and travel is a question young readers can explore: How do the little things we do make a difference to others?
The Craft Behind the Rhyme
Behind Tinsel’s playful adventure is a manuscript Gerardi has spent considerable time revising. He listens closely to the rhythm, adjusting lines until they feel natural when read aloud. A small change can mean reworking the surrounding stanza to keep both the rhyme and the story moving.
That process serves a straightforward goal: give children an adventure they enjoy hearing again. The rhythm should carry them through Tinsel’s discoveries, with the emotional meaning emerging through the character’s choices.
Gerardi has also refined the manuscript with editorial feedback from Jennifer Rees, a former Scholastic editor whose work includes Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games series.
The result is a Christmas adventure designed to entertain while leaving room for reflection.
From Arctic Landscapes to Illustrated Adventures
Canadian artist Adelle Laporte is bringing Tinsel and his world to life as the book’s illustrator. Her initial character artwork offers readers an early glimpse of the adventure taking shape.
The partnership has its own touch of sunshine and snow. Gerardi was born in Southern California; Laporte has roots in Ontario and memories of the Arctic North. For a story that trades snowy workshops for sunny shores, the two make a fitting creative pair.
Laporte’s artist biography offers a whimsical account of where her creativity began. Perhaps polar bears taught her to draw after watching God paint the northern lights. Perhaps it was clouds practicing shapes above mountain valleys, or farm animals who refused to sit still for a sketch.
As she puts it, she has spent much of her life “wandering through places that want to become stories.” From the Arctic North to mountain trails, farm fields, and the busy streets of New York, those places have filled her imagination with colors, characters, and little bits of wonder.
Laporte eventually took that imagination to The Master’s University, where she earned a degree in Communications, specializing in Digital Art and Cinema. Today, she works in New York as a Marketing Media Specialist for Lamplighter Publishing while developing the illustrations for Tinsel’s adventure.
“But I still like drawing best,” she writes. “Especially when there is a wonderful story involved.”
Readers can explore more of Laporte’s artwork on her Instagram profile.
A Christmas Story With Room for Conversation
Beyond its colorful settings and playful rhyme, Tinsel’s Tropical Tale explores responsibility and purpose through an elf whose frustration children may recognize. Repetition can feel boring. Everyday tasks can seem unimportant. Somewhere else can appear far more exciting than wherever we happen to be.
Rather than beginning with a lesson, Gerardi builds these ideas into Tinsel's choices and the consequences that follow. The elf's journey becomes an opportunity to explore what happens when someone discovers that even the smallest responsibilities can affect others.
For parents and educators, the story provides a natural opening for conversations about taking pride in personal contributions, recognizing how actions affect other people, and finding the courage to make things right after a mistake. These ideas emerge through Tinsel's adventure rather than interrupting it.
Growing Tiny Seeds & Tall Tales
Gerardi, a father and U.S. Navy veteran, founded Tiny Seeds & Tall Tales around the guiding phrase, “Sowing seeds of wisdom in a world of wonder.”
His first published picture book, Molly Mae and the Magic Magnifier, explores perspective through a girl who revisits a disappointing birthday party with help from Sunny, her fairy god bunny.
Tinsel’s Tropical Tale brings a new character and a holiday setting to that collection, continuing Gerardi’s interest in imaginative stories that give children and adults something to enjoy—and something to discuss together.
Discover a Different Kind of Christmas Adventure in 2027
Tinsel’s Tropical Tale: A Not-So Christmas Story is planned for release on November 11, 2027.
Families, educators, and librarians can follow updates about the upcoming book, explore Molly Mae and the Magic Magnifier, and discover more about the growing Tiny Seeds & Tall Tales collection at growingtalltales.com. Readers can also connect with the brand on Instagram, Facebook, the Amazon author profile, and TikTok for book news, creative updates, and future releases.
Men’s Insider Contributor
Ethan Marsh
Covers health, fitness, and modern lifestyle, with a focus on practical habits and the long game of staying well.
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