BookTrust, Britain’s largest reading charity has launched the BookTrust Digital Advent Calendar featuring the very best children’s books that families might want to share this Christmas.
The BookTrust Digital Advent Calendar is launching very soon, and visitors will also get the chance to win all 24 books featured, and have them delivered in time for Christmas!
The BookTrust team chose the books that they feel children would most love to find under their Christmas tree or in their stocking. The selection, which is aimed at children up to the age of 12, features both classics and new stories and picture books from the very best authors and illustrators.
Each day leading up to Christmas Day, a picture of a specially selected book will appear behind a calendar window, along with the reasons it was chosen.
BookTrust Chief Executive, Diana Gerald, said: “This is good festive fun with a serious edge to it, we know that developing a love of reading brings enormous benefits and is linked to children doing very well at school and living balanced lives.
“Exposing children to fantastic authors and illustrators at a young age will encourage them to enjoy reading so we want to help parents by pointing them in the direction of books their kids will love.”
Included is Matt Haig’s fantastic new story, A Boy Called Christmas, [Canongate] illustrated by Chris Mould. Matt brings his signature wit and warmth to this seasonal chapter-book, which is sure to delight young readers.
Another title, this time for younger readers, is Judith Kerr’s picture book, Mog’s Christmas [HarperCollins]. This classic picture book celebrates the joys of preparing for Christmas, although it all seems rather strange from a cat’s point of view!
Also hiding behind one of the windows is a beautiful non-fiction title, Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill [Flying Eye Books]. This marks the 100th anniversary of Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition, with informative text and a wealth of beautifully detailed coloured pencil drawings.
The calendar also features the nation’s favourite storyteller, Michael Morpurgo, with his new book, An Eagle in the Snow [HarperCollins]. Michael, who is also the BookTrust President, teams up with illustrator Michael Foreman for this short but immersive novel. Based on a true story of a highly decorated World War I soldier, children will love this thought-provoking tale. Another inclusion is the The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton [Walker Books] about Princess Pinecone who wants a warrior horse for her birthday but gets a short, fat, farting pony instead. This is a hilarious book with a feminist message that shows girls can be strong and creative.
The calendar goes live on December 1st, and will be found here:
http://www.booktrust.org.uk/advent-calendar or on Twitter #BookTrustAdvent