One of the most beautiful books for this Christmas has just arrived in bookstores; Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer. If you own the previous Olivia books then you must have this for your collection. Olivia loves Christmas, she loves the traditions and she loves being busy; decorating the tree, helping mum (mom) with Christmas dinner, supervising the hanging of stockings and of course opening her presents. It’s very tiring being so helpful. The traditions that Olivia’s family celebrate are actually drawn from Falconer’s own childhood which makes this a very personal story. You will also notice that although Olivia wants to see Father Christmas she doesn’t get a chance and he is not illustrated in the book because none of us get to see the real Santa do we? Once again Falconer has created a divinely illustrated picture book and has breathed so much life into Olivia that she almost jumps of the pages, she is a clever, intelligent little character who appreciates art and culture. As she is certainly not a girly girl boys will also find her irresistible and I guarantee that parents will too.

Olivia is the funkiest pig in literature, if you haven’t met her yet than you are missing out. To read about Ian Falconer’s life at the New Yorker magazine and designing sets for the New York Ballet visit the beautiful website Olivia the Pig. You will giggle when Olivia walks across your computer screen dragging the cat; she truly is a feisty little piglet and one that your feisty little piglets will adore. The website has fantastic activities for children and you can even join her fan club – I did!