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| A Boy Called Christmas |
A Boy Called Christmas is rollicking good fun, full of laughs for child and adult alike on every page, (and Haig has taken the opportunity to poke fingers at the state of the international nation). It's also an adventure quest story, perfect for shared bedtime reading - or cosying up under the Christmas tree. And Chris Mould provides plenty of illustrated pages.
For anyone who's been wondering how to chat about the way we treat outsiders to young children - without getting all politicised - this could be a fun place to start.
If you believe in Father Christmas - the old man dressed in white and red, whose reindeers like Donner and Cupid and Blitzen (okay, Cupid might not be mentioned in this book!) fly him through the night delivering gifts to children who've been good; if you believe in the potential of humanity to be a generous and giving species; if you believe in the possibilities for little boys and girls to go out and become who they want to be; and if you really like a bit of mischievous fun about how things came to be, chances are you'll love this little book.
There is an elf swear word in the novel: impossible.
A Boy Called Christmas has been nominated for the 2017 Carnegie medal.
Publication details: 2016, Canongate, Edinburgh, paperback
This copy: received for review from the publisher
I read this book last night and loved it. Definitely agree that this can be used as a good way to generate discussion about how we treat outsiders. WIthout being too spoilery I thought the bit towards the end (with the sleigh being too heavy) was a bit needless and distracted from the cosiness of the rest of the book, but still I imagine it will be a Christmas classic :)
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