This is turning out to be a bumper year for titles about Christmas and the winter season. Not only have we got a collection of additions to already popular titles, but we also have a huge range of new characters to bring us Christmas Cheer.
Picture Books
“Little Santa” by Jon Agee is a delightful take on how Santa became the focus of Christmas that he has become. It is about doing what is right for you, rather than just following everyone else; a great addition to the Christmas collection.
Little Bear and the Silver Star by Jane
Hissey is a look at her famous collection of toys as they start to decorate the tree for Christmas. When the star for the top cannot be found, Little Bear gets worried. A midnight visit to the attic eventually finds the hidden glittery star, but then he loses it in the snow outside. However, with a bit of Christmas magic, the tree eventually has its crowning glory!
The Christmas Pine by Julia Donaldson and Victoria Sandoy is a magical look at what happens to a small Norwegian pine tree as it grows into a tall and strong tree. It is brought to another country and city (London), where it is the centre of celebrations and helps people remember the true meaning of the festivities. This is the story of the Trafalgar Square tree that is gifted by the Norwegian people, in thanks for the help they received in WW2.
“The Mice before Christmas” by Anne L Watson and Wendy Edelson is based
on the classic story by Clement Clark Moore, however this is about how the mice prepare and spend Christmas. It is a bright and vibrant story of family and friendship and the joy of the festive season. There are echoes of the Brambly Hedge stories and you can see this especially in the highly detailed and energetic illustrations. This is definitely one that should be a classic read.
“Santa’s Stolen Sleigh” (Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam by Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton sees our two heroes, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam back in action. When Santa’s elves become ill, a polar bear called Flo offers to help with toy making, but then she steals Santa’s sleigh, so she can have a ride. Luckily things turnout well in the end and Flo is very remorseful.
“Grace and the Christmas Angel” by Lucinda Riley, Harry Whittaker and
Jane Ray is a beautiful and timeless story of Christmas, family and the sense of community that is found in fishing villages around the world. When Grace’s father does not get home for her Christmas concert she worries about his boat, out in a tempestuous sea. Luckily she has a guardian angel, called Hope, who answers the call and guides the vessels back to port. The illustrations are yet another triumph form the magical Jane Ray and they really add to the joy in te book.
“The Twelve Green Days of Christmas” by Barry Timms and Sian Roberts is another version of the 12 Days of
Christmas, however this time it has Santa as the main character and looks at what he sees when he is flying with his reindeer. The theme is about caring for our planet and being more green about the way we behave. It is a great and humorous story but with a strong eco message.
“Croc O’Clock” by Huw Lewis Jones and Ben Sanders is a decidedly modern take on the concept of the 12 days of
Christmas, but mixed with the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Feeding time at the zoo is exciting as Croc gets increasingly larger meals, until he finally is ready to burst, but of course he doesn’t and his keepers put him on vegetarian diet for a while.
“The Toys’ Christmas” by Claire Clement and Genevieve Godbout is about a young boy called Noah and his toy
elephant called FanFan. when the latter can’t be found on Christmas Eve, Noah is worried and finding it hard to go to sleep. But FanFan is on his annual secret mission, together with lots of other toys; they meet up with Santa and let him know what their child would like for Christmas. This means that everyone gets a present that they wanted and of course on Christmas morning Noah finds his faithful friend is safely home.
Middle Grade Stories
“The Christmas Pig” by J K Rowling and Jim Field. This is a delightful Christmas story from one of the world’s
best known children’s authors. When Jack’s favourite toy Dur Pig (DP) is thrown out of a car window, he is distraught and even a replacement pig does not help. This is a totally magical story of lost toys and the love that a child has for a favourite toy. It is also a story about families, as Jack’s dad has gone and his mum is just beginning a new relationship; however, the daughter of the new friend is not happy and she is the one who threw DP out of the car. The twin elements of the story are all about accepting change and understanding that there can be new loves, even though you never forget the old.
“Diary of a Christmas Elf” by Ben Miller tells the story of a young Elf called Tog, who really wants to become one
of the toy-makers for Father Christmas. When things start going wrong and toys are being stolen, can Tog do anything to help solve the mystery, with the help of Santa’s daughter Holly? This is a great read for the 7-9 age group and will definitely bring on the Christmas spirit.
Clara Claus saves Christmas by Bonnie Bridgman and Louise Forshaw . When Santa is taken ill just before
Christmas, it is up to his children, but especially his daughter Clara, to try and save the day, by making sure all the presents are delivered. This is a delightful and very funny story for the young confident reader
“How Winston came home for Christmas” by Alex T Smith is the gorgeous follow up to the star |Christmas book from last year. Once again we have the story told in 24 chapters, so that you can read one for every day of Advent. This time, Winston is on the hunt for a missing mouse and has lots of adventures on the way. The book is full of recipes, craft ideas and that magical something that we all want from a Christmas story. A totally glorious read.
The Christmas Carrolls by Mel Taylor-Bessent and Selom Sunu shows us a
family who take their love of Christmas to the extreme. They celebrate it throughout the year and can’t understand those who just celebrate in December. When they move house and Holly starts at a new school, they find they are definitely meeting a lot of “Bah Humbug” feelings, so can they change people’s minds? A brilliant look at what ‘being different’ can mean and how we can stay true to ourselves, whilst understanding the different views of others.
“The Christmasaurus and the Naughty List” by Tom Fletcher and Shane
Devries is the third adventure featuring this totally unique dinosaur and his friends. When Santa does his annual weigh-in of the Naughty and Nice lists, he discovers that there are far too many children on the naughty list. If not enough children receive presents then Christmas cannot take place, and that would be a disaster! The Christmasaurus decides to intervene and get children moved from naughty to nice.
“The Santa List” by Kieran Crowley is another story about the naughty list. |this time, the siblings, Aisling and Joe have been playing tricks on their new babysitter and she has sent a letter to Santa, putting them on the naughty list. Can the children redeem themselves and get on the nice list; that is, if they can recover the list, which they have managed to lose! A brilliant read for the festive season.
“A Mouse called Miika” by Matt Haig and Chris Mould is the latest story set in the world that Matt Haig created
around “A Boy called Christmas”. This time the hero is the small mouse, Miika, who faces moral dilemmas when he wants to be friends with the only other mouse at the North Pole, but they are not as honest as he is, so eventually decisions have to be made. With the release of the film version of “A Boy called Christmas“, this new story set in the same world is bound to be a hit.
“The Night train” by Matilda Woods and Penny Neville-Lee. This is a magical
story that follows a group of characters as they board the night train, which will take them to a place where their dreams can come true. However, they have to reach their destination by midnight, otherwise they will not dream; unfortunately on this night there is an obstruction on the track and everyone has to work together to make things right. It is a great story for younger readers, with lots of bright and atmospheric illustrations that bring the story alive.
“Winter Story” by Jill Barklem invites us to join the mice of Brambly Hedge as they celebrate the coming of snow
and the excitement of preparing for a ‘Snow Ball’. The preparations are magical; from carving out a huge ballroom in the snow, to everyone baking and cooking a huge feast for everyone to share. this gives a warm and cosy feel to the reader.
“Wishyouwas” by Alexandra Page. It is the lead up to Christmas 1952 and Penny Black has been sent to stay with her Uncle Frank, who runs a small post office in central London. Penny’s mother is a pilot for the Royal Mail and flies post to Europe and back; but Penny is hoping that she will be back home in time to celebrate Christmas. What Penny does not expect, is to discover what she initially thinks is a rat, but turns out to be something very special indeed. This small creature speaks English and says his name is ‘Wishyouwas’; he is a ‘Sorter’ and this group of creatures have made it their purpose to try and retrieve lost post and make sure it finds its rightful recipient. However, the Sorters are under threat from the Royal Mail Rat Catcher and Penny finds herself trying to save them and prove how useful they would be to the service. This is a wonderful story about friendship, family and also being open to new ideas and accepting others who are very different. Alexandra Page has created a new Christmas classic and I know it will be a firm favourite for children and adults alike.
“A Night at the Frost fair” by Emma Carroll and Sam Usher is a wonderfully evocative time slip adventure in
which the young Maya finds herself transported back to the Frost Fair of 1788, where she meets a young boy called Eddie. She thinks he is being kidnapped, but finds that he has run away from home, because he is being treated as an invalid and not allowed any freedom. How Maya helps him and also makes changes to lives in the present day, makes for a perfect Christmas tale.
“The very Merry Murder Club”, edited by Robin Stevens and Serena Patel is a
collection of murder and mystery stories, written by some of our most talented writers for Middle Grade readers. The stories range from dead bodies to stolen treasures and each of them gives the reader opportunities to use their “little grey cells”. This has kept me happily engrossed over several days waiting to collect someone in my car.
been asked to look at this collection by the supplier Books2door and as it is a group of stories about Christmas (my favourite time of the year, despite the weather), I agreed. The publisher is also one that I am very fond of; Little Tiger was founded in 1987 and ran as an independent publisher until 2019, when it was bought by Penguin Random House, but it still maintains its ethos and individualism. There are ten picture books in this collection and they are a mix of traditional stories and modern tales. Interestingly there are only two titles that actually have human characters, with the other eight featuring a wide, but familiar range of animals.
Caroline Pedler is the story of two small mice, named Bubble and Squeak, who are visiting their Granny for Christmas. But how will Father Christmas know where to deliver any presents and even more worrying, how will he get in the house? Granny doesn’t have a chimney, but she comes up with an exciting alternative that they can all enjoy.
“Waiting for Santa” by Steve Metzger and Alison Edgson shows us the power of believing and of friendship. Little bear is convinced that Santa will bring presents at Christmas, but badger is very sceptical as they have never had presents before. Despite this the friends all decorate a tree, with a star on top and snuggle up to wait for Santa, but will they get the surprise they wanted? Well it is Christmas and dreams can come true.
Macnaughton has been a firm Christmas favourite since it was published over a decade ago. When little hedgehog is woken from his winter sleep he is too cold to go back to sleep, but then out of the sky falls a parcel and it is addressed to him! Inside is a red woolly hat, but as it doesn’t fit, he decides to give it to his friend. The hat is passed to several animals before it finally finds its true home and everyone can snuggle down and keep warm.
“The Night before Christmas” by Clement C Moore and Mark Marshall. This is a re-telling of the now classic story of Christmas eve and is probably how most young children have learnt the names of Santa’s reindeer. As always, this story leaves a nice warm glow.
Edgson tells the story of young rabbit, who has spent the morning building a very special snowman. When he is asked to pick some berries for tea, he sets off and enjoys it so much, he doesn’t see the now start to fall and the visibility disappear. Magically he is rescued by the snowman and gets home safely.
“A Christmas Wish” by Julia Hubery and Sophy Williams is the story of Gemma and her little brother Ty. When Ty accidentally breaks her favourite tree decoration, Gemma is very upset and angry. But then she remembers all the nice things about her brother and when she finds that he has left some glue and a note saying ‘I’m sorry’ outside her door, she realises that the ornament can be mended and she wants to make up with her brother.
Yerrill is about the wonder and joy of experiencing your first Christmas celebration. Little Mouse has never had a Christmas, so he asks his large family what it means to them. Parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins and other relatives all share their favourite things. This can vary from making snowmen, sledging, and snowball fights, to Christmas dinner, presents and keeping warm around a fire. All of the things that we imagine a magical Christmas to be, but mainly it is about sharing with family and friends.
“Big Bear, Little Bear” by David Bedford and Jane Chapman is the delightful story of a polar bear and her cub. The latter wants to grow up as big and strong as his mother and to be able to do all the things she does, but she explains that when he is big, she won’t be able to give him a ride on her shoulders. So he decides that growing up is a long term aim, as he loves sharing adventures with his mother.
Chapman tells the story of a young rabbit called Moz, who is being squashed by his siblings in the burrow. He decides to go outside and meets his friend Albatross, who offers to take him for a flight. Unfortunately Moz falls off and ends up in the snow and then inside a huge ice hall. At first it is exciting, but then he gets scared and misses his family, so he manages to escape from the ice. Luckily Albatross finds him and he is soon back in the warmth of the burrow and the cuddles of the family.
“When will it Snow?” by Kathryn White and Alison Edgson features another young bear who is longing to see snow. However his mother tells him that bears hibernate when the snow arrives, so he will not be able to seethe winter. So little bear asks his friends, mole and squirrel, what snow is like and they explain about the way it falls, goes slushy and how you can make snow angels. They also confirm that they will be out playing in the winter weather and bear is worried that they will forget about his during the winter and that he will lose his friends. But as we all know, true friends do not forget about you over a short period of time and all is well in the end.
This is a story of deep fantasy, set during the Christmas period and with a young central hero who is pitted against some very dark and dastardly villains. The story was written in 1935, so we have a real sense of time, although the place itself is totally fictitious. The story centres around young Kay Harker as he travels to stay with family at Christmas. He meets with a mysterious old Punch and Judy man called Cole Hawlings, who gives him and old box to safeguard. However, the villainous Abner Brown and his hired thugs are also after the box; because this box allows the owner to travel through time! The story is full of action, adventure magic and fantasy and the twist at the end leaves you wondering if it was real, or just a dream. You really have to read the book and make up your own mind about that.
evident in the way that he writes about the author and his work. This work is a wonderful introduction to the life of Masefield and to his other works, but especially his role as the Poet Laureate. I must admit that my knowledge was limited to reading some of his poetry at school in Abingdon. It has just come as something of a surprise to discover that the great man was living only about 6 mile away, at Burcote, until his death in 1967 and that there is every possibility that I could have passed him in the street without knowing. We do indeed live in a very small world.
“A Christmas in Time” by Sally Nicholls is the second adventure for Alex and Ruby as they are taken back to a Victorian Christmas; where they have the task of saving a young ancestor from being sent to a really awful girls boarding school. The plot also involves mending family relationships and bringing the true spirit of Christmas to those that they meet. This is a lovely read for those who are just becoming confident in their reading and I look forward to another story (that was hinted at) in the future.
In this version we have a very strong set of female characters, but of course the men in the story tend to get the wrong end of the stick and assume that S Claus must be a man. There is a truly horrible villain, Mr Krampus, named after the scary devil figure found in Germanic festivities leading to Christmas, but just is served at the end. this makes a really original story and is bound to be a great favourite.
“The Night After Christmas” by Kes Gray and Claire Powell follows on from last year’s offering “The night before the night before Christmas” and shows us how Santa and Mrs Claus, together with the reindeer and Elves celebrate the completion of their mammoth task every year. This is an exuberant, funny and so very happy story for younger readers. Fantastic for reading to classes and all the little ones in your life.
are treated to a wonderful re-interpretation of “A Christmas Carol”, but set in the present day and dealing with the aftermath of family bereavement and the profound impact that can be felt for years. A definite future classic.
“A Thing called Snow” by Yuval Zommer is the delightful story of two young animals as they discover winter and,in particular, snow for the first time. The arctic fox and hare have only heard about winter, as they had been born in the spring, so they find the whole experience quite magical. The author/illustrator has created a wonderland of images for us and it is a story that works on so many levels and is an absolute delight.
Smith is a totally brilliant and hysterical take on the famous song. As the author says, it is very difficult to remember the list of items sent on the twelve days, so in the end he made up his own list. It is absolutely mad and I can imagine the fun that groups of children will have in trying to act out this song. Once again Alex T Smith has given us an real gem of a book for Christmas.
out when Santa accidentally puts presents into the stocking of a naughty twin, but leaves nothing for the good sibling. The magic of Christmas shows that everyone has a good side and that the power of love is limitless.
“Dogger’s Christmas” by Shirley Hughes sees the return of one of the most iconic characters in picture books. It is the run up to Christmas and young Dave (Dogger’s owner) is getting very excited and puts Dogger safely in the window. However after the great day, he cannot find his toy and it looks as if Dogger has gone, however with the help of older sister Bella, miracles can happen. There are going to be a few tears and lots of Christmas cheer as this gorgeous story reaches its conclusion.
featuring the planet Yule-1 and the Trubshaw family, who find themselves having to help Father Christmas when a rogue inventor threatens to make dangerous toys for presents. This is a great story for younger readers and the humour is just as infectious as in the first story. It is yet another brilliant addition to my Christmas shelves.
“The Church Mice at Christmas” by Graham Oakley is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and it is just as wonderful as the first time I read it, all those years ago. The adventures of the mice and their unwilling ally, Sampson the cat, make for a wonderful story that will be loved by both the adults and children in your life.
stunningly illustrated collection of folk tales from around the world. Although there are some familiar tales from Europe, there are also stories from China, Japan and South Africa and they all have the ability to uplift the spirit. Definitely a great collection for a school where you want to be able to read short, but complete, stories during the day.
“Letters from Father Christmas” by J R R Tolkien, edited by Baillie Tolkien. I can’t believe it is 100 years since Tolkien started writing these letters to his children. This centenary edition is much longer that the original edition from 1976, which was called “The Father Christmas Letters” and which was also edited by Baillie Tolkien. The magic that the author was able to create for his family shouts to us from 
the page and I am sure that there are many families where following his example has become something of a tradition. It is a glorious addition to any Christmas collection.
her desire to keep the memory of her dead sister Agnes by creating a ‘snow sister’ whenever it snows. This is a Victorian tale about family and what is really important in life. Yet again Emma Carroll has produced a story that provided deep satisfaction and a sense of the Christmas season. (NG)
