Book Feature Thanks to the Young Readers' Club

The Christmas Pig by J.K Rowling

I have a confession to make. I don’t enjoy reading fantasy. I survived Harry Potter but that was because of peer pressure. Hence when one of my young reading companions at the book club (Young Readers' Club) highly recommended this book, I wasn’t too keen to pick this book up. But his review and reason why he highly recommended it, stayed in my mind for a long time. I had almost forgotten it, until this amazing book caught my attention, while I was rearranging the fantasy shelf in the children’s section of our community library. I picked it up on a whim. Another volunteer was around in the library, at the time. She had read it with her daughter and assured me that I will survive the fantasy in this book.

I am writing this, soon after I closed the last page in the book. What a ride it has been! I am so glad I allowed J.K Rowling to take me to this beautiful world that she has painstakingly created.

About the Book

Christmas Pig is a children’s book that considers the young reader to be smart enough to understand the intended message that has so beautifully been shown. By portraying a little boy’s love for his toy pig, DP, a young reader’s attention is immediately captured. Which child doesn’t have a favorite toy with which, they like to play, take them where ever they go, if possible and fall asleep hugging the toy. DP is also shown as a sounding board who listens to Jack, the little boy in the story. Jack feels free to share his deepest emotions and thoughts with DP. As he explains, DP listens and does not judge.

Jack goes through a tough time when he sees his family split. He is forced to move away from his familiar surroundings, school and friends, so that he and his mother can live closer to his grandparents. Change, that to of this nature can be extremely hard for a child. DP is the one who helps him through the change. Just as he begins to settle in the new place, another big change occurs, throwing him off balance once again. Yet again, it is DP that comes to his rescue until, DP gets lost.

Jack sets out on a journey to save his beloved toy DP. He travels to the Land of the Lost to find DP. It is a dangerous journey but nothing can stop him from saving DP. The adventure teaches Jack and the readers all about friendships, mutual support and care, understanding what it takes to be a good person and above all, the most important lesson — empathy.

A Story That Makes You Laugh—and Hold Your Breath

All along a number of characters either with adorable names or the most amazing personalities will make sure to keep you enthralled. My personal favorite is the Compass who has a rather sad history of how he got lost. But he is no ordinary character. He is funny, strong, smart, fearless, adventurous and risk taking. He is a hero who helps others even though they might not stop to appreciate his help in the Land of the Lost. I absolutely enjoyed his quirky mottos and stories with a morale. They helped lighten the absolutely tense situations in the book. The Christmas Pig is a book that is hard to put down. The reading experience would get elevated even more if one reads it aloud together with a reading companion.

An Adult Friendly Book

While children would love this book for the varied characters and perhaps care for their toys even more, for adults, this book will take you down your memory lane until you stop by toys/things that mattered to you a lot, while you were a child. Not just that, this is a book that would allow you to rediscover the child in you. Could there be a better way to forget your stress of daily life challenges?

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Sometimes, we all need a helping hand to pick a genre that we find difficult to get through. It is easy to say no to a book but could we be missing out on a fabulous reading experience? Had I not got a little encouragement from my reading companions at the Young Readers' Club, I might not have picked this book. I would have simply continued saying, "I don't do well with fantasy." I would have missed a beautiful reading experience in my reading journey.

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The Young Readers' Club is a book club for the 8-12 age group. We also do vocabulary building activities and mini writing lessons for a little variety!

Writing programs for the 9-12 age group- Young Writers' Club Jr.  

The Young Writers' Club program for the 13-16 age group offers a weekly platform to read and discuss curated articles from the news, observe writing approaches and practise one's writing skills.

Tween Tribune  is an online magazine for the Young Writers' Club (Jr.) program for tweens. Weekly updates of our discussions are published. Once in 6 months, the best of writing by the tween members is made available to read.

 Musings from the Young Writers' Club is an online magazine showcasing the work we do at the Young Writers' Club.