Murder at Christmas by Fleur Hitchcock (Nosy Crow)
Join Grace and Billy in a delightfully cosy hotel mystery. Their family has been split up across the world – Mum and Billy in Australia while Grace attends a boarding school in the UK. Now they’re back together for Christmas at Aunt Mollie’s fancy hotel in Bath. Grace and Billy love getting to know the staff, eating in the restaurant, exploring the rooms and making new friends. When Mum goes missing and there’s a murder in the hotel, everything changes. They don’t know who to trust as they try to solve the mystery.
Fleur Hitchcock writes such thrilling mysteries with relatable characters young readers can really get to know. Lovely friendships, the typical ups and downs of sibling relationships and the unreliability of adults create engaging child-centre adventures that absolutely captivate readers.
Murder at Christmas is the perfect book for dark December evenings or to enjoy during the Christmas break.
Anisha Accidental Detective: Christmas Chaos! by Serena Patel & Emma McCann (Usborne)
Anisha and her over-the-top, hilarious family are back with another laugh-out-loud adventure. Anisha’s dad is in charge of the festive fayre so everyone is busy pulling together all sorts of Christmas fun. There’s a giant nutcracker, Christmas costumes, sparkly lights and lots of tinsel! When the centrepiece of Santa’s grotto goes missing, Anisha becomes an “accidental detective” once more. Can she find the sleigh and save the Chrismtas fayre?
The Anisha series is fantastic for readers who love to laugh. Relatable family dynamics, the chaos of Christmas and a good dose of silliness make this book a great choice for a December class read aloud in Year 2 onwards.
The Street Where Santa Lives by Harriet Howe & Julia Christians (Little Tiger)
The Street Where Santa Lives celebrates the joy and magic of community. When an elderly man, who looks surprisingly like Santa, moves in next door, this little girl is sure he’s the real deal. Not only does he have a white beard and red clothing, but he’s really good at fixing things. His talent for bringing new life to things that have broken brings the neighbours together. Through helping each other, they grow closer and look out for one another. As Christmas approaches, “Santa” isn’t anywhere to be seen. He hasn’t gone to the North Pole – he’s unwell and didn’t want to bother anyone. Just as he’s helped others, the neighbourhood comes together to care for him and help him feel better.
This is a beautiful book of cross-generational friendship and community spirit. The value of relationships along with the importance of repairing our possessions instead of throwing them away make this a really special story to share.
The Boy Who Grew Dragons: Christmas Delivery by Andy Shepherd & Sarah Warburton (Templar Books)
Did you know that dragons love Christmas? Tomas and Lolli are enjoying preparing for the festive season with the help of the magical dragons who grow on the dragon-fruit tree in their garden. Each shimmering, shining, crackling dragon has special powers. When a white, sparkling dragon pops out of the tree, Lolli’s wishes come true. It’s a Snow Dragon! They have a fantastic time together among the flakes. However, when it’s time to deliver presents, they run into a problem – the car is completely buried in snow! With the help of the dragons, they come up with the most magical way to soar through the sky. Who needs reindeer when you have dragons?!
The Boy Who Grew Dragons: A Christmas Delivery is a fantastic twist on Christmas traditions with loads of magic thrown in. Brightly coloured and incredibly exciting, children will want to read it again and again.
The Littlest Christmas Tree by Jane Chapman (Little Tiger)
The Littlest Christmas Tree is a gorgeous story of the quest to find the perfect tree. Cubby, the little bear, and her friends are so excited to go out into the forest and choose trees for their homes for Christmas. They enjoy decorating them and the lights and sparkle fills their Christmas with happiness. When Christmas is over and it’s time to put the tree outside, Cubby is so sad. She’s not ready for the end of the happiness. Daddy Bear suggests planting the tree outside so they can look at it everyday and use it again next year. All the animals do the same and they soon have a wonderful little forest of Christmas trees.
Themes of embracing the joy of the season and sustainability in replanting Christmas trees make this a lovely book to read aloud and discuss.
Supertato: We Wish You a Veggie Christmas by Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet (Simon & Schuster)
Fans of Supertato will be thrilled to discover this veggie crew is back again for a festive adventure. The Evil Pea is a bit of a Grinch and doesn’t enjoy all the happiness of the Christmas season. Using his “Size-o-riser”, this grumpy villain shrinks all the other veg to a tiny size and goes about cancelling Christmas. But don’t worry, Supertato and “tiny sprout” are determined to put things right and save the day.
Just right for readers age 3+, children will love listening to this festive treat read aloud in a group. They’ll boo the Evil Pea, cheer on Supertato and his friends, and sing “We Wish You a Veggie Christmas” at the top of their lungs.
Books by Kate Heap:
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