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Bunnies in a Sleigh: A Crazy Christmas Story!

by Philip Ardagh, illustrated by Ben Mantle

Interest age: 4 to 5

Published by Walker Books, 2023

  • Funny
  • Picture books
  • Poetry and rhyme

About this book

It’s Christmas Eve at the North Pole, but there’s a problem: Santa’s elves got a little too enthusiastic with the candy canes, and now they’re definitely out of action when it comes to helping Santa deliver all the Christmas gifts! Oh no! 

Fortunately, a gang of bunnies arrive just in time and hop on Santa’s sleigh, ready to hand-deliver presents wherever they need to go – from a cosy mouse house to some sleeping octopi underwater, and even to some baby monkeys asleep in a tree! 

Finally, all the presents are delivered, and Santa and the intrepid bunnies can return to the North Pole for a pile of carrots and some present opening, safe in the knowledge of a good job well done. 

This absolutely brilliant Christmas romp of a picture book is a real delight. Ardagh’s rhyming text rolls off the tongue very satisfactorily and there are lots of nice repetitive moments that invite little ones to repeat along and even shout out – particularly when the sleigh appears to be headed straight for a clock tower! Ben Mantle’s lovely illustrations are full of great details, and the bunnies are incredibly cute. 

About the author

Roald Dahl Funny Prize winning author Philip Ardagh is the author of The Grunts. He is probably best known for his Eddie Dickens adventures, translated into over thirty languages, and for his Grubtown Tales, but he is author of over 100 books. He collaborated with Sir Paul McCartney on the ex-Beatle’s only children’s book, and wrote the BBC’s first truly interactive radio series, Arthur Story and the Department of historical Correction. He is a 'regular irregular' reviewer of children’s books for The Guardian, and is currently developing a series for television. Philip Ardagh is two metres tall with a ridiculously big, bushy beard and size sixteen feet, making him an instantly recognisable figure at literary festivals around the world.

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