(Middle School) Matt Haig is a favourite author of mine. He’s been through some hard things and his writing doesn’t shy away from being honest about that. He’s humorous and heartfelt with an uplifting and grounding perspective. The adventures are real about fear, but also encouraging in bravery and resilience.
When I saw he had a Christmas trilogy for young adults, I was intrigued! I bought this last Christmas and never got around to it, but this year I read the first one and hope to continue with the others. I loved it and look forward to the rest of the series. The way he handles the dark side of life reminded me of other authors who do the same, like Kate DiCamillo and C.S. Lewis. Kids deserve to not be sheltered from the reality that there is tough stuff in life, as long as we are there to help them through it!
Set in Finland, this is an imagined backstory of where Santa Claus came from. It’s a fantasy adventure with an old-fashioned fairy tale feel and I loved the quirky illustrations by Chris Mould. Some of the adult humour in this book might be a bit lost on younger kids, but I think for that reason, it might be a good one to read aloud. Adults will love it too. The audio book version is narrated by Stephen Fry and it has been made into a movie.
Here’s some quotes typical of Haig’s trademark simple wisdom that stuck with me:
“I would rather a toy that was made with love, than one that cost a lot of money.”
“We must never let fear be our guide.”
“It’s very easy, in the world, to be bad, so when someone is good and kind, it’s magic.”
“Being frightened is a very useful thing to feel.”
Here are the titles of Haig’s Christmas series:
A Boy Called Christmas
The Girl Who Saved Christmas
Father Christmas and Me
The Truth Pixie
A Mouse Called Miika
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