There's a quiet murmuring going on over on Twitter at the moment, championed by authors, artists, parents and bloggers. With the current 'in thing' being 'slow toys' we are fully behind the campaign to also include at least one book in your children's christmas haul this year.

Sally Poyton started the snowball rolling so check out her blog!

Using the hashtag #Dear_Santa_Book_in_every_stocking you can get behind the campaign to big up your favourite books. Not just christmas ones, anything that would keep a child enthralled when the daft plastic bleepy toys have long since outstayed their welcome.

Hop on over to Elli's brilliant blog for a poem on the subject, or scour some of the best children's picture book blogs in the business to see what they're up to and recommend for some cool christmassy reading. Here's a small selection of our favourite places to look for inspiration on:


Child-Led Chaos

Library Mice

Playing By The Book

The BookSniffer

And of course you can also visit brilliant indie stores and great publishers like:

Beachy Books

Letterbox Library

Mostly Books

Child's Play

Lion Hudson

Springboard Stories (how could we forget!!)

Got a recommendation? Drop a comment below, g'wan!

Now here's a brilliant idea. Mix a fantastic christmas story with a superb letter writing kit (that's not just handy for those long, long, LONG lists to Santa, but can also be used to thank all those lovely relatives that spoil you rotten at christmas with a lovely festive letter) and you've got 'Dear Santa' from Kathryn White and Polona Lovsin.

When a christmas letter goes astray and is found by a cuddly little bear, an adventurous journey begins to make sure the letter finds its way to Santa Claus in time for christmas.

Bear enlists the help of his best friend Rabbit, and soon they're crunching through the snow on their ambitious mission.

Polona Lovsin's illustrations are absolutely perfect for this time of year, and Kathryn White weaves a tale of high adventure, keeping things suitable for a range of ages, particularly the very young.

Really great idea this, and yet another top quality christmas book from those lovely tigery folk.

Charlotte's best bit: She's completely head over heels in love with Rabbit. Awww.

Daddy's favourite bit: What a stroke of genius! Great little notelets and envelops perfect for letters to santa (oh and mum and dad, grandma and grandad, nanny and dodo and everyone else too!)

(Kindly supplied to us for review by Little Tiger Press)

It's that time of the year when frantic parents are doing the mental arithmetic to try and work out how many sleeps there are till Christmas (Quick answer for today: a rather scary 48 sleeps to go! EEEK!) and are also looking for interesting book suggestions to pass on to Santa.

Little Tiger Press / Stripes Publishing have a rather nice selection of titles coming up for Christmas 2012, so dip in, dust the snow off your boots, snuggle down and see if any of these take your fancy...

"When Will It Snow?" by Kathryn White and Alison Edgson

An impatient little bear asks his mummy "Mummy, when will it snow?"
Bears should really be snuggling up underground, getting ready for hibernation but little bear doesn't want to go to sleep, he wants to stay and play in the snow with his friends. Will little bear manage to keep his eyes open long enough to see the first snows of Winter?

Charming illustrations and a heartwarming tale of friendship, "When Will It Snow" might just make you wish for a dusting of the white stuff!



"Ten Shiny Snowflakes" by Russell Julien

A great book for busy little fingers that like texture in books, and the great 'surprise' of watching each tiny shiny snowflake disappear as you make your way through the book. How many snowflakes can you count as they land on the end of your nose (or tongue). Younger children will love the bears and counting out the snowflakes to try and guess which one will 'melt away' next.







"Dear Santa" by Kathryn White and Polona Lovsin

When rabbit and bear find a lost letter to Santa in the woods, they decide to go on an epic journey to make sure it's delivered to the big man himself, Mr Claus.

"Dear Santa" tells the tale of the two friends as they trek through the snow, having many adventures along the way - but will they make it all the way to Santa's grotto before Christmas Eve?






"The Very Sparkly Snowman" by Stephanie Stahl and Veronica Vasylenko

A big, bold and beautifully sparkling snowman is the star of this next tale. Perfect for younger children who will marvel at the way The Very Sparkly Snowman grows and grows with each turn of the page. Textures and cut-outs provide a surprise at every page turn. Just how big will your snowman be when you build one in your garden? Bigger than this happy glittery fellah?







"One Starry Night" by M. Christina Butler and Tina MacNaughton

Little Tiger Press's "Little Hedgehog" books by M. Christina Butler and Tina MacNaughton are well known and well loved. In this tale, we find Little Hedgehog setting out on an exciting journey to track down a night sky filled with shooting stars. Half way through their night-time trek they run into a spot of bother. Will Hedgehog and his friends get to see the dazzling stellar display as darkness falls? Find out in this great addition to the "Little Hedgehog" series.






"Puppy's First Christmas" by Steve Smallman and Alison Edgson

What would it feel like if you hadn't seen Christmas before? A young puppy is confused. Mummy seems to have gone slightly bonkers, pinning up stockings around the house and dragging a tree in! What on earth is going on? Enjoy this snuggly little tale of a puppy's first christmas as puppy's friend cat shows the young scamp what christmas is all about, and how all the fuss and mess makes it all well worth the wait.






"On a Starry Night" by various authors, illustrated by Alison Edgson

This lovely tale of young animals snuggling down to sleep on a snowy night shares their dreams through a series of short stories by some of Little Tiger Press's best known and best loved authors. Find out what a young husky dreams of, how a young goose navigates the night sky and enjoy an anthology of perfect seasonal stories made for bedtime and cocoa.






"The Snow Bear" by Holly Webb

This beautiful and atmospheric chapter book is perfect for young readers. A young girl and her grandfather build an igloo in the garden, with a polar bear to watch over it. As the night draws in, the young girl wakes to find the polar bear cub has come to life, and the garden has transformed into a magical snowy wilderness.

So begins their adventurous journey to find their way back home. Beautifully illustrated with a superb cover by Simon Mendez.