‘A gilt-edged gift that’s more than a gift… this is a story that no doubt will become a festive favourite but is a book that will take big kids back to feeling like believers again.‘
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Title: The Night I Met Father Christmas
Author: Ben Miller (@ActualBenMiller)
Illustrator: Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini (@djterrazzini)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s (@simonkids_UK)
Page count: 304
Date of publication: 1st November 2018
Series status: N/A
ISBN: 978-1471171536
Perfect for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6.
#3Words3Emojis:
1. Magical ✨
2. Charming 😊
3. (Father) Christmas 🎅
Jackson knows all about the flying reindeer, he knows about the elves and the secret North Pole workshop, he knows about the magic that allows Father Christmas to deliver presents around the world in just one night, but there’s one thing he doesn’t know … how did Father Christmas become Father Christmas?
That all changes when, one Christmas Eve, Jackson meets Father Christmas and hears his incredible story.
So begins an enchanting fairy-tale into a magical snowy landscape, where Torvil, a mean-spirited and miserly elf, is about to discover the true meaning of Christmas. This might not have been the story Jackson was expecting but, as Father Christmas tells him, no good story ever is…
Review: You’ll most probably know Ben Miller for his vast array of utterly brilliant comedy, TV and film work, most notably with writing partner Alexander Armstrong. My favourite of his being the hilarious The Worst Week of My Life. So it is with great pleasure that The Night I Met Father Christmas shows that Ben can turn to his hand to the children’s literature world with the same enthusiasm in this joyful, festive offering. The Night I Met Father Christmas is Ben’s first foray in to writing for children and I’m certainly hoping it’s not his last.
In his heart of hearts, Jackson is a believer, always has been a believer and always will be a believer but owing to the smallest seed of doubt placed in his mind by one of his friends that’s slowly festering and growing bigger, he’s determined to find out for real about the true origins of Father Christmas.
With grand plans to meet the main man himself by fervently staying up late on Christmas Eve, Jackson is ready and armed with that ever-elusive and all-important unanswered question that’s reverberating around his head to find out his true identity, How did Father Christmas become Father Christmas?
But this all starts to slightly come unstuck when Father Christmas arrives down his chimney with a problem all of his very own…
As Father Christmas injures himself coming down Jackson’s chimney leaving the world at the mercy of not receiving their presents, Jackson finds himself at the delivery service of this small Santa in return of wanting to reveal the secret backstory behind his being.
With echoes of the great Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol and in particular The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, so begins the revelatory journey that Jackson finds himself on. Accompanied by a talking reindeer, Jackson discovers the story of a Scrooge-like elf with a surname that’s the only thing in common with Christmas who rediscovers himself in more ways than one…
Friendship, flashbacks, fairy-tale and festivity combine in the most delightful of ways to make this a book that has all the potential of becoming the next Christmas classic. Not only a wonderful book to read at home in the build-up to Christmas Day that’s guaranteed to be a big hit with the whole family but also one that could inspire a whole generation of young readers to write their own origin stories, you’ll never think of Father Christmas in quite the same way again.
An absorbing read that’s sure to sprinkle Christmas spirit and sparkle through every turn of its glorious and gorgeous DJ Terrazini black-and-white illustrated pages, this is a book that no doubt will become a festive favourite but is also a book that will take big kids back to feeling like believers again.
Make sure to find space on your book shelf for this gilt-edged gift that’s more than a gift; it’s the perfect present to read this Christmas and to return to for all Christmases to come.
‘A gilt-edged gift that’s more than a gift… this is a story that no doubt will become a festive favourite but is a book that will take big kids back to feeling like believers again.‘
Big thanks to Eve Wersocki-Morris, Ben and all at Simon & Schuster Children’s UK for inviting me to share my thoughts on this beautifully-written and illustrated book as part of The Night I Met Father Christmas blog tour!
🎁 🎅 Mr E 🎅🎄
The Night I Met Father Christmas is available to order now online or from any good bookshop.
Giveaway!
The very lovely people at Simon & Schuster Children’s UK have kindly given me ONE copy of The Night I Met Father Christmas to give away!
If you’d like to be in with a chance of winning one of these copies of this superb book, simply retweet (RT) this tweet!
thereaderteacher.wordpress.com 
We love a great Santa tale, and looks like it is up there with the best, by encompassing a lot of other adventures and history too.
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Arr, this truly be a new twist on they old timey Christmas stories.
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