The Christmas Pig: Harry Potter’s author is back with a new book

Harry Potter’s creator J K Rowling is back with her new children's book The Christmas Pig, a beautifully illustrated story about Jack, a boy who loses his treasured stuffed toy, a pig. Using the form of a kid’s story, it tells us that things go missing from life, and we lose childhood too eventually, but we can hold on to everything in our heart. We recommend this book as perfect holiday reading.  

What is the story about?  
Jack has a deep emotional bond with this pig toy, which gets lost. The replacement, Christmas Pig, takes him on an adventure to the Land of the Lost. The book tackles tricky issues for kids, including divorce, bullying and the emotional intricacies of family life. There are places called Disposable and characters with names like Ambition and Power. It never gets preachy. It’s also very visual-oriented.  

A book for parents and kids  
The story is written keeping in mind that not just kids, but their parents or grandparents might read it too. While kids will love it, adults would revisit the magic of childhood. Rowling wants kids to be happy; she also knows how tough life can be for adults responsible for getting that happiness home.  

It’s a story close to Rowling’s heart 
The book is dedicated 'To David' (  ) and in the acknowledgement section, JK Rowling gives her thanks to her family, hinting that the story was probably inspired by a family holiday to the sea.  She gives a beautiful indication that this story is close to her heart, which we are quoting from the book: 'All that remains to say is that any resemblance between the Things in these pages and the Things our family may have lost or found is, of course, entirely intentional.'  

A book that handles difficult issues with simplicity  
The Christmas Pig is not just another charming festive season story. Life’s difficulties are presented here as well as how we can be resilient in the face of trouble. In the end, we realise how strong we are, without feeling like we have been taught a boring moral lesson.