The cat who ate Christmas by Lil Chase and Thomas Docherty

Little Brown Books, 2016. ISBN 9781510200821
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Christmas, Chapter book, Family, humour. Written for younger readers new to chapter books, the story of Jingles, the cat and his escapades at Christmas time is highly entertaining, with every page having a wonderfully Christmassy illustration to pore over.
On Christmas Eve, Rose attempts to tie a piece of tinsel to Jingle's tail. This results in the tipping over of the Christmas Tree and from then on, things happen in the most unexpected ways.
The family wakes the next morning to find that the cat has pulled apart all the gifts left by Santa, and taken down all the decorations. But when Mum takes the turkey out of the oven and leaves it on top of the stove, while they collect Grandma, they arrive home to find the turkey almost eaten.
It's no wonder the cat cannot be found, but the next day at the supermarket Jingles is found again, all is forgiven and Christmas is what it should be, full of fun and family being together.
This lovely story subtly detailing the customs of Christmas, is wonderfully illustrated, bringing a close family feel to every page. Each page has between a few lines and a paragraph of two and with the illustrations makes this a fabulous read for newly competent readers who can tackle chapter books. The last few pages contain some truly awful Christmas jokes which will cause huge laughter amongst the target audience, a recipe and an angel to make.
Fran Knight