ReadItDaddy's Booky Advent Calendar Day 19 - 19th December 2013: "Roley Moley's Christmas" by E.J. Gill (J & J Gill Publishing)

Christmas is coming, and by now you're probably smugly sitting atop a huge pile of things ready to wrap having completed your christmas shopping early. What's that? You are nowhere near finished? And you're still searching for a few stocking fillers for your little ones?

How about a festive book that warms the cockles and features an enduring and rather cute little mole? Roley Moley to be precise, the hero of E.J. Gill's beautifully created series of children's books. When poor Roley is dug up with a christmas tree one festive evening, he ends up transported into the home of a family who are just putting the finishing touches to their yuletide celebration. For Roley Moley this is a whole new world as he discovers the sights, the sounds, the smells - and most importantly the taste of christmas quite literally from the inside out!

Moley's not always popular though, and there are lots of scrapes and near-misses before Roley can truly enjoy the spirit of christmas. Thankfully he's a mole with a very special skill. They don't call him Roley Moley for nothing!

E.J. Gill's perfect combination of an entertaining 'fish out of water' story and of course a hefty dose of christmas atmosphere make this book a lovely addition to any youngster's library. Perfect for this time of year, and Charlotte absolutely loved Roley Moley (I think she'd quite like to prod his big round christmas pud-filled tummy! Not sure how Roley Moley would feel about that!)

Fantastic stuff and we'll definitely be hunting down the rest of Roley Moley's books!

Charlotte's best bit: Roley Moley getting a rather fat tummy from ending up in "The Giant Christmas Pud Molehill"

Daddy's favourite bit: Entertainingly written, with great illustrations and quite a bit of tension and excitement too. Moletastic!

(Kindly sent to us for review by E.J. Gill in Paperback version. A kindle version of the book is available via this link: Roley Moley's Christmas)