Merry Whatmas?

By Author / Illustrator

Eoin McLaughlin, Polly Dunbar

Genre

Family & Home

Age range(s)

Publisher

Faber & Faber

ISBN

9780571379514

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

28-09-2023

Synopsis

With over A QUARTER OF A MILLION copies sold in the series, everyone's favourite Hedgehog and Tortoise are BACK with the message that Christmas is about being with the ones you love.

'Merry Christmas!' said Fox.
'Merry whatmas?' said Hedgehog.
'Merry whichmas?' said Tortoise.

You see, it was Hedgehog and Tortoise's first Christmas.
So they didn't know what Christmas was.

Fox thinks Christmas is about presents, Badger thinks it's about pudding, Magpie thinks it's about singing . . . Tortoise and Hedgehog begin to feel rather overwhelmed with all the noise and fuss. But in a quiet moment of reflection they learn the most important lesson of all: Christmas is about being with the ones you love.

Reviews

What a gorgeously endearing book Merry Whatmas? is! It is sure to deliver all the best kinds of messages to you and your family at Christmas time. I was overjoyed to see Eoin McLaughlin and Polly Dunbar working together on a Christmas book to extend their extremely successful series. We met Hedgehog first in The Hug and Hedgehog is back again alongside its animal friends to learn all about the meaning of Christmas.

Fox is rather keen on Christmas because he just loves getting presents… that are all his! For Badger, Christmas means baking and Magpie loves decorating at Christmas time with shiniest of lights and baubles… of course! What Squirrel loves most of all is roasting nuts on the fire whilst Rabbit is frantically running around trying to get everything organised in time for the big day. And the biggest disaster of all… Mole forgot to send out the Christmas cards! All of this is far too much for Hedgehog who ends up curled in the tightest ball hiding away from it all. Can Owl save Hedgehog's diminishing Christmas spirit and teach the true meaning of Christmas?

The message Merry Whatmas? sends is one that is so important at Christmas time when some children may have very different realities from others. I would highly recommend using his book as part of a whole school assembly for as many children as possible to hear and digest before we break up for the Christmas holiday. On each read of the book, the illustrations are more and more charming. It has really excited me for a re-read of The Hug which again gives the reader and its audience the most wonderful warm feeling at this time of year. Utterly Lovely!

Picture book / Reviewed by Jessica Bunney, teacher