Booky Advent Calendar Day 17: Mr Men: The Christmas Party by Roger Hargreaves (Egmont Publishing)

Mr Men books have been staple fodder for a couple of generations of our family. I still remember the awesome animated TV series narrated by Arthur Lowe, and back when I was at primary school the Mr Men books were extremely popular, kids would draw them on their scrap books or pencil cases and there was even a brilliant range of plush toys (my sister had a Mr Bump complete with bandages!)

Along came the Little Miss books to join the male-dominated range, and now there are even more books than ever.

For our Booky Advent Calendar we've picked out one of Egmont's new stories with a christmas twist. It's time for the grand Christmas Party and all the Little Misses and Mr Men are invited. Mr Happy will be the genial host, and he soon sends out invitations to everyone.

One person is in two minds about coming along though. Little Miss Shy. She really wants to go but doesn't know if she can sum up enough courage to go along. What if she blushes and gets embarrassed? It's quite the quandary to be in!

Luckily on the day of the party it snows really heavily. Everyone is downcast and sad because it looks like the party will have to be cancelled. All but Little Miss Shy who doesn't have to worry about going or not going any more. But Mr Christmas has a fantastic idea. He's going to borrow Santa's sled to ensure everyone gets to the party on time, and it can go ahead! CATASTROPHE (for Little Miss Shy at least!)

So does she make it to the big yuletide bash, or does her shyness stop her?

You'll have to read this awesome little christmas story to find out. The Little Miss / Mr Men books are still as great as they ever were, and this story in particular struck a chord with Charlotte - who is quite shy herself. Maybe if you can gather enough courage to do the things that scare you, you'll end up having the most brilliant time ever! What a great message, not just for christmas but for any time of the year!

Charlotte's best bit: Mr Silly's amazing crazy band and their weird instruments!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A great little message and it's so good to see that the Little Miss / Mr Men books are still as fantastic as ever they were!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Egmont Publishing)