Jack loves life with his Mum, Dad, and small soft toy pig, Dur Pig. He’s had Dur Pig since very small when he couldn’t say The Pig, so the
name stuck. DP has been Jack’s favourite toy ever since he can remember and he still sleeps with him every night.
One night, Jack hears upset in his home and after doors are slammed, his Dad leaves. Life is different with just Mum, but he tries to be brave. At least he still has DP by his side, who knows how Jack is feeling without him saying a word.
More changes are on the way, including a man named Brendan and his daughter Holly. At first Holly and Jack get on well, but Holly is becoming a teenager and things start going wrong. It all culminates in an argument and DP is suddenly…..gone!
Jack can’t believe it. How can it be? Gone? Surely DP can be found? But alas, the only fix is a new, small, soft toy pig. But this one doesn’t look right, smell right, and couldn’t ever possibly be right.
But it’s Christmas Eve, and special things happen on this night. The new Christmas Pig tells Jack he can help him find DP. They only have until midnight to do it, otherwise they’ll be stuck in the Land of the Lost forever.
The Land of the Lost is a place where things are put somewhere different, mislaid, been careless with, or lost by mistake. Jack and Christmas Pig (CP), discover different towns in this land, and depending on how or when you were lost, depends on which town you live in. You are sorted by loss adjusters. These are usually knives, boots, mallets or other pointy things, and they can be truly awful to lost things.
Things must stay in the place they are sent to, and human boys are definitely not permitted in this land. But Jack is determined and CP brave, so they continue their search for DP.
There is a castle where other things are lost. Ambition, Happiness, Hope and Principles are waiting for their owners to get them back so they too can leave the Land of the Lost.
Time is ticking by however, and Jack and CP are being hunted down. They have heard all the stories of The Loser who will take their life force from them if they are never found by their human owners. Will they ever find DP in time, and then what will happen to CP?
The Christmas Pig is essentially a Christmas story, but is also a clever fantastical adventure quest to find a beloved toy. The Land of the Lost is a place where all lost things end up, whether it be something as inconsequential as a used ticket stub, a marble, a broken compass, or something like ambition, happiness or even hope.
This is a clever concept, and I could relate to all the lost things and their situations. The feelings were the most profound for me as of course, we can lose them just as we can lose a first draft of a poem, an expensive earring, or a lunchbox. All of these ‘things’ star in this story.
The Christmas Pig is scary in places and not for the faint-hearted. It has everything a good story needs however. A likeable main character who goes on a quest to find a loved one, making new friends, defeating enemies, and is courageous along the way – and when it really matters.
The ‘ticking clock’ scenario adds even more excitement and tension.
Jim Field’s wonderful illustrations add even more to this tale that can be read any time of the year.
Author – JK Rowling
Illustrator – Jim Field
Age – 8+
Learn more about this book here
(2022, Hachette, Christmas Eve, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Magic, Land of the Lost, The Loser, Lost things, Courage, Bravery, Lost Items, Stuff, Family, Changes, New Home, New School, New step dad, New step sister, Upheaval, Favourite Toy)