2015
Arabel’s Raven by Joan Aiken and Quentin Blake
We have thoroughly enjoyed doing The Classics Challenge and have read some fabulous stories. Arabel’s Raven is the final classic story that we have read this year and it was full of so much humour and intrigue that I’ve bought all the other Arabel and Mortimer stories!
Dec 24th: Emma Perry chooses Refuge
The Story: Refuge by Anne Booth and Sam Usher – a retelling of the Christmas story, with an important new angle.
Dec 23rd: Peter Bently chooses Baby Christmas
The Story: On Christmas Eve, Father Christmas goes off on his rounds while Mother Christmas stays at home to look after Baby Christmas. Baby Christmas wants to play at being his dad, so Mother Christmas puts him his baby sleigh pulled by little reindeer Rudolf Junior. She even gives him a few presents to pretend to…
Dec 22nd: Anne Booth chooses King John’s Christmas from Now We Are Six
I would like to propose one poem from the book by A.A. Milne ‘Now we are Six’. ‘King John’s Christmas’.
Dec 21st: Guy Parker-Rees chooses Happy Christmas Maisy
The Story: Happy Christmas Maisy is really not about the plot! Maisy does Christmassy things: buying and wrapping presents, baking, putting up decorations and stockings. Then there’s a knock at the door…
Dec 20th: Sally Poyton chooses The Tale of Jack Frost
Christmas is a time for woolly hats, scarfs, gloves and hot chocolate. Despite very few of my childhood memories of Christmas including snow, (as it never snowed during the festive season when I was small) Christmas is always synonymous with snow and frost. Certainly my own offspring have experienced more white Christmases then I ever…
Dec 19th: Polly Faber chooses Lucy & Tom at Christmas
The Story: Lucy & Tom at Christmas is a simple account of the preparations for a family Christmas and the day itself, told with Hughes’ characteristic warmth and eye for detail. It recalls much of my own childhood experience of the day and captures the essence of what I would love my own children to…
Dec 18th: Colin West chooses Once in Royal David’s City
I’m choosing a real oldie as my favourite, Once in Royal David’s City, published in 1956, it’s almost as old as me!
Dec 17th: Jane Hissey chooses Jingle Bells
The Story: Jingle Bells is the story of two little mice who live in a barn and are having trouble with the farm cat. He creeps up on them, eats their store of Christmas food and tricks Father Christmas into not leaving them any presents. Something has to be done! With the help of a friend…
Dec 16th: Tom Percival chooses Once Upon a Northern Night
The Story: Put simply Once Upon a Northern Night is a story about the magic and wonder of seeing the ordinary, familiar world transformed by a snowfall.
