BOOK REVIEW: Hoglet's Christmas Magic

TITLE: Hoglet's Christmas Magic
AUTHOR: Lynette Creswell
PUBLISHED BY: White Rabbit Books

This beautifully written Christmas story tells of how, on Christmas Eve, brother and sister hoglets, Prickles and Primrose, discover that the star they usually put on top of their Christmas tree has shattered and can’t be used. They decide to venture out into the woods to find something to replace it and who should they come across but Santa. Santa has a problem too and the hoglets help him to find a missing toy; in return Santa magically helps the hoglets with a replacement star for their Christmas tree.

With a suggested reading age of 4-12 years, this simple, sweet story is brought to life with beautiful illustrations on each page which will captivate youngsters reading it or being read to. It is perfect for all young Santa fans and there are some other lovely woodland characters the hoglets meet on their adventure which add charm to the story.

The heart of the story is Christmas magic which will appeal to children and parents alike; the close family depicted in the story and the theme of helpfulness and being kind to one another really hits the mark.

This is the perfect book to read to a young child, or for older children to read for themselves in the run-up to the festive season, particularly on Christmas Eve. It is a heart-warming tale which carries a strong moral message, teaching children the importance of sharing, being helpful, polite and being respectful towards others.

Children love reading stories which centre on a problem to be solved, an adventure or a journey along with the theme of friendship and this book has all of these and more.  From this story, children can learn about forest creatures they may not have come across in their every-day lives, especially those children not living in the countryside; I must confess that I didn’t know a young hedgehog was called a hoglet until reading this book (or maybe I’d forgotten).

Youngsters also enjoy reading about someone in a story being rewarded for being kind and as this is an important theme in this story they will be able to learn the importance of this through reading the tale and will be able to make the connection in their own lives.

I love the illustrations but one small niggle, I did find some of background colours on some of the pages containing the script rather dark and struggled at times to read it but overall I found that this story book is packed with wonderful Christmas vibes and delightful Christmas spirit and I’m really looking forward to sharing it with my grandchildren in the upcoming festive season. I’ll definitely look forward to reading more adventures about the hoglets.

Illustrated by Doriano Strologo.

Reviewer - Anne Pritchard