Jim doesn’t like his job much. He is living in London with his owner who is a chimney sweep, and is tied to the end of a pole to be used as a brush. One day this doesn’t go as planned, and he is rescued from the sweep by an influential man named Sir Henry Cole.

Life changes dramatically for Jim from that day, and he becomes Sir Henry’s constant companion. Sir Henry is constantly adding rooms to a new museum, so spends many hours there. Jim enjoys the art there, with one painting especially. Jim also enjoys reading, but his eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be.

With Christmas approaching one year, Sir Henry Cole gets an idea about how to save time with all the Christmas messages he and his wife had to send, and he designs something that will speed things up. The very first Christmas card.

But how to make this idea catch on? He decides to try the help of the most famous person in the land – Queen Victoria.

This is how Jim finds himself on a velvet cushion inside Buckingham Palace in front of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Not only is he and the card well received, a solution to his failing eyesight is right in front of him.

Stealing just the thing he needs from the palace brings him his eyesight, a very long night awake and then an unexpected Christmas present from royalty on Christmas day.

Written by much loved and Academy award winning actor Emma Thompson, Jim’s Spectacular Christmas is based on a real dog named Jim who lived with Sir Henry Cole in late 1800’s London.

Sir Henry designed the very first Christmas card in 1843. Combining these truths into a new Christmas story for children, the author has given readers a funny story within a snapshot of London in the 1800’s.

Sir Henry Cole and Prince Albert worked together on The Great Exhibition of 1851, and from there more museums opened for all the people of London to enjoy art and history.

Jim is a lively character and I did laugh out loud at his antics and the amusing illustrations by the amazing Axel Scheffler. This is nearly picture book size, but has much more text, making it a wonderful read aloud or gift for emerging readers before larger chapter books. 

Author – Emma Thompson

Illustrator – Axel Scheffler

Extended text picture book

(2022, Penguin Random House UK, Dog, Christmas, Animals, Historical, Humour, Popularity, Family, Based on truth, Art, Museum, London, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, Monarchy, Buckingham Palace, Love, Sir Henry Cole)