Santa has been delivering presents to children all over the world for years, but he has never had his own Christmas celebration. After prompting by a bear who lives near the North Pole, his elves are determined to fix this and to give Santa the best Christmas ever with presents, a feast, a huge Christmas tree, lights and of course a celebration with the best company of all.
There are some sweet touches in this story - such as when the elves deliver breakfast in bed to Santa on Christmas morning - fresh doughnuts; when Santa and the elves decorate the tree with gingerbread pigs; and when they make biscuits to leave out with a glass of milk for 'you know who'. Santa settles back to read a famous story 'he had a broad face and a little round belly that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly'.
But who is going to arrive with the presents? And what will Santa receive?
You will love their Christmas feast:
"For the table was set with mince pies and pudding and rolls and roasts, Brussels sprouts, gravies, horseradish sauce, sparkling crystal glasses filled with milled wine, a yule log, poached pears, candy canes, several pies, and a ginger stout cake, powdered with sugar and six layers high."
Santa's First Christmas was published in 2024 and this week my friend gifted me a copy for Christmas 2025.
There are so many Christmas books and of course so many that I love but this one is TRULY special partly because, amazingly, it is an utterly fresh story and partly or perhaps mainly because Hans Christian Andersen Award winning illustrator Sydney Smtih has created utterly delightful illustrations. Even the cover has a special feature called spot varnish. There is one double spread in this book (with no words) that made me gasp!
I am sure you have seen lots of other splendid books by Mac Barnett. I love Extra Yarn, 20 questions, Billy Twitters and his Blue Whale Problem, and Just Because. Read more here. I have talked about Sydney Smith extensively on this blog (click on the label at the bottom of this post).
Look for this book in your local or school library - it is also by Mac Barnett:
My Christmas book countdown for 2025 will focus on Christmas books that celebrate the humble donkey and his part in the Christmas story. For each post over the next 12 days I will share a book cover and the blurb of each picture book (note most of these will be out of print but they might be in your local library which is a special place you could visit in January).
Some of these books, as you would expect, are based on the Nativity story but others link with Father Christmas. One is a brand-new Australian title. In some cases the story will feel very familiar but hopefully your young reading companion will enjoy the variety of illustration styles. I have read most of these books - others I found through online searching.
You might like to begin by listening to The Small One (this YouTube link is an audio file).
"My name is Esra Merkes. I am eleven years old. The tattoo on my arm says I belong to Him, Orlando Perel. It says Snakeskins are my family for life. It says I am owned."
Three young kids have been captured and are living as slaves under a house where they tend to a drug crop. Their families were promised the new country would provide education and light duties but all these were lies.
There are four voices who tell this story. Esra, Miran and young Isa and later Esra and Isa meet Skeet. The kids do escape from captivity, but Miran is 'captured'. In fact, he is actually taken to hospital. Esra and Isa are on the run because their captor has told dreadful stories of the way the gang hunts kids down. Esra is determined to find Miran so all three can try to make their way back home. You might think Miran is safe because he is in the hospital but in several chilling scenes, we read that someone disguised as a nurse is poisoning him. Esra and Isa find a cave where they shelter, and this is where Skeet finds them. He offers to help with their quest to find Miran, but this involves moving along tunnels under the city. These scenes are so powerful I felt desperately claustrophobic as the kids crawl through the never-ending labyrinth of dangerous tunnels and then it rains and water fills the spaces. These kids are in an incredibly dangerous situation and a race against time.
It did take me a few days to read The Ones that Disappeared because I kept having to emerge from the horrific scenes and take a break 'back in the real world'.
Here are a couple of text quotes:
"We drank the puddles from the floor and scooped what we could into the water bottles to ration. And when that ran dry, we sucked up water from the toilet. But the toilet must be connected to the sprinklers because it won't fill back up. It's almost empty, and now Miran and I won't drink at all. Just a sip when the thirst gets this bad. ... We heard the truck arrive. Heard the footsteps in the hallway, the scratch of metal in the lock. And when the door opened at the top of the stairs ... he looked at us, his eyes turning hard and his hands shaking anger and fear ... and we saw our fate written there in his eyes."
"It's time for your medicine,' she tells him, taking four large pills from a container in her pocket. She get him a glass of water and waits while he swallows the pills. She doesn't write on his chart or feel for his pulse like the other nurse does. ... Miran is already asleep when the nurse scratches at her wrist, pushing her cardigan high enough to hint at the tattoo inked black on her arm. A tattoo which matches Miran's own, of a snake, curled around the letters OP."
I have said this in a previous post - we are SO lucky to have a writer like Zana Fraillon here in Australia.
Every few years I collect bookshop Christmas catalogues and compare their children's book offerings.
I did this in 2019, 2020 and in 2023.
The most detailed exclusively children's Christmas or summer reading catalogue is the one from BookPeople:
I discovered this book, which is from 1991, in a school library. The Teacher-Librarian has decided this book no longer fits her collection or the reading interests of her very young students and I totally agree. BUT this book is illustrated by the wonderful Brian Wildsmith so I just had to bring it home to read.
So I am only talking about this book because I love the art - I don't think I would have ever shared this book with a young reading companion or any group in my school library. As Kirkus say:
An unabashedly didactic story by the Japanese author of The Cherry Tree (p. 466), with a heavy-handed message made remarkably palatable by English adaptor Geraldine McCaughrean's lyrical text and Wildsmith's gorgeous illustrations. ... Dutifully accepting the lesson, the child returns to earth ready to smile and be kind. The reformation may be too easy, but the point is still valid; and no one should forgo Wildsmith's delectable art with its delicately glowing colors and wonderfully imaginative juxtapositions of harmonious images.
Here is the blurb if you are curious:
Sophie, a bad-tempered and unhappy child, changes her view of the world when the Great Moon Rabbit carries her to the moon, where she learns to look for the good in people and thereby feel happier herself.
The Japanese author of The Princess and the Moon is Daisaku Ikeda. Daisaku Ikeda was a Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder, educator, author and poet. He was the third president of the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist organization and the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), which is today one of the world's largest and most diverse lay Buddhist organizations, promoting a philosophy of character development and social engagement for peace. ... Ikeda was a prolific writer who has published more than 100 works, ranging from Buddhist philosophy to biographical essays, poetry, children's stories and photographic collections.
Now for the art (images source Brian Wildsmith)
Cakes, a love story, kindness and destiny - perfect ingredients for a delicious BOOK! (oh and did I mention cake - do not read this book when you are hungry).
Lucas lives in a small, possibly French, town by the sea. He is so lucky because his aunt Violette owns a cake shop. He can sample the cakes and even help to make them, but more importantly, Lucas is a boy with well-developed emotional intelligence. He can see that even though Violette has bright eyes and a sharp sense of humour she somehow also seems a little sad.
"Sometimes Lucas helped: stirring, mixing, whipping. And Violette would tell Lucas stories about when she was young."
And as well as emotional intelligence Lucas is a good listener.
Lucas also loves to visit his friend - the fishmonger who works in the busy market.
"Cyprien (was) a large, shy man with kind eyes and wild hair under his old beret. Some days Lucas helped: wraping, mopping, rearranging. And Cyprien would tell Lucas stories about when he was young."
But like Violette, Cyprien's eyes looked a little sad.
Notice the way Sophie Masson has constructed the two sentences above - a variation on the words.
Cyprien is shy. He does visit the cake shop but he is never brave enough to stay for long. Lucas encourages Violette and Cyprien to share their favourite memories and by happy chance Lucas recognises these memories are linked. All he has to do is find a way to bring these two people together.
I am certain The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef will be a CBCA 2026 notable Picture Book title and possibly even on the shortlist. You could borrow this book from your local or school library but even better the beautiful book design, tactile cover, gentle colour palette, delightful illustrations of cakes and the warmth of this sweet love story make this a book you will want own or perhaps give as a gift at Christmas.
The art in this book by Cheryl Orsini is truly special - I have been a fan of her work for a long time.
Just OH MY!! This is simply an absolutely beautiful treasure from every angle. Just so Stories
Companion books:
‘The Fishmonger and the Pastry Chef’ has to be one of my favourite picture books of the year. It is absolutely gorgeous. Sophie Masson knows how to tell a tale and this is a beautiful tale about two people who connect. Indeed, it’s a sweet and romantic tale that is perfectly paced and perfectly structured. And the artwork by Cheryl Orsini is exquisite. ... This is the perfect gift for young ones." Paul Macdonald
This is from a Facebook group that I have joined. I am so excited to read the 2026 selections. Luckily, I have already read a few of these but mostly that was years ago so I will try to re-read.
January: The Giver by Lois Lowry (read decades ago)
February The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
March: Flight of the Puffin by Ann Braden
April: Radiant by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
May: Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li
June: The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner (read but not blogged yet)
July: It's All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango (read but not blogged yet)
August: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
September: Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar
October: The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman
November: No Place Like Home by James Bird
December: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (read decades ago)
Here are the books we explored in previous years:
When you spend a day with friends, I guess it is natural to have an expectation about how the day will 'pan out'. Young Bonnie expected all the friends to work together to create the fabulous sandcastle of her imagination. Instead, each child makes their own elaborate creation, and Bonnie feels totally left out and alone. Bonnie does know some 'calming down' techniques such as counting to ten but these do not work. Her friends seem to have left her, and in her anger and frustration Bonnie stomps on her sandcastle. At this point I think I would ask the students in my library group what could happen next? In the story it is Bonnie who apologises but I wonder if the other kids might need to say sorry too? It would be good to talk about the emotions encountered in this story - words like flustered, fusses, fed up.
With a group of younger children I would pair Castle Crashing with a Bluey episode - Stick Bird Season 3, episode 41.
There are some lyrical words and phrases in this book: tilting. sagging shacks; a twisty shack spills onto the sand; Bonnie skitters seaward; sticky sunscreen smeared; as the tide tiptoes out to sea; pointed sandy spires; and the sun winks at the friends.
I went to a book launch at Gleebooks Kids for this new book Castle Crashing which was released on 28th October. I expect this book might be a 2026 CBCA Notable Early Childhood selection.
Here are the things I discovered about Andrea Rowe - as a young writer she won a competition judged by the famous Australian writer Colin Thiele - his advice 'keep practicing'; each of the books in this series focuses on a different child; Andrea loves thinking about her characters - trying to get right inside their heads; and she will have four books published (I don't think they are from this series) in 2026.
Here are the questions I would have asked if (a) I was brave enough and (b) there was an opportunity to do this:
Here are the other two books from series - Jetty Jumping, Sunday Skating and now we have Castle Crashing.
Look for these other books about sandcastles (and my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything has even more for you to enjoy):
Here is a publisher bio for Hannah Sommerville:
Hannah Sommerville is a best-selling picture book illustrator who creates enchanting watercolour, gouache and digital illustrations in her studio on the South Coast of NSW. Hannah earned a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Arts and Graphic Design) at the University of Wollongong in 2006 and began illustrating in 2010 after the arrival of her young children. Hannah is a storyteller who enjoys creating picture books that capture the imagination, tenderness and playfulness that surround children and family life. Her picture book Digby & Claude, written by Emma Allen, was selected for the CBCA 2019 Notables list.
Hannah Sommerville is an illustrator to watch. Rachel (bookseller at Gleebooks) shared that Hannah has a new book due out in 2026 which she has written and illustrated - I won't give away the story line but it does sound terrific. In March 2026 her book The Night Tiger by Sherryl Clark will be published. I did invite Hannah to participate in our 2025 IBBY Australia Mini Masterpiece online art auction. If we run this event again in 2027 I do hope she will consider participating. I would love to own a piece of her beautiful art. Hannah Sommerville has illustrated some wonderful books:
It is time for the swans to fly south. This will be the first journey for young Moonshadow but he has the guidance and reassurance of his wonderful grandfather.
The language in this book is lyrical - sunrise washed their feathers with gold and rose; they came to the wrinkled sea; lightning ripped the clouds; and white wings feathered the wind.
Moonshadow was published in 2009 so sadly it is now out of print but you might be lucky and find a copy in a library. In other places this book has a different title - Moonshadow's Journey. After you read Moonshadow you will want to hunt out more books illustrated by Karin Littlewood.
Here are the full plot details by Little Parachutes:
With a group of older students, you could compare this book with another title for younger readers:
