A very sweet story and, I believe, will sit well amongst other Christmas classics. Never lose Hope! ( )

A heartwarming story of a little boys search for his lost stuffed pig in the land of lost toys. ( )

I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait to read it to/with my daughter when she is older. The illustrations are wonderfully done. ( )

Jack has loved his little stuffed pig, DP, since before he can remember. DP has seen Jack through his parents' divorce, starting school, and his mother's remarriage. But when DP is lost on Christmas Eve, Jack is sure that nothing will ever be right again. His grandparents offer him a replacement pig, but Jack is inconsolable. Then, that night, the replacement pig comes alive. Christmas Eve is a night of miracles, after all, and it may be possible for Jack and the Christmas Pig to travel to the Land of the Lost and retrieve DP, if they are both very brave and a little bit lucky. But the journey will be beyond anything Jack could imagine -- and at the end, a sacrifice will be required...

This book came out a couple of years ago, and I meant to read it, but Christmas came and went, and since it was clearly such a Christmas read, I didn't want to pick it up in any other season. I finally remembered to get to it this year. I can definitely spot some of Rowling's brilliance, especially with place names and descriptions. There were also some bits that I found a little too on the nose (maybe also typical of Rowling's work). This is written for a younger audience than any of her earlier books -- in fact, I wondered a little bit about who the audience might be, since our main character Jack is younger than most chapter books readers, and children often prefer to read about kids slightly older than themselves. I decided that it might make for a nice family read-aloud. The ending is a little too convenient, but it does have a lot of warm cozy feelings associated. A pleasant seasonal read, but I don't see myself picking it up again in future. ( )

J.K. Rowling is one of the most imaginative, creative, and magical writers of our time. I can tell she put forth a lot of thoughtfulness into this story from beginning to end and so much love into each and every detail. It was a riveting, enchanting tale that I read all in one sitting and couldn't put down until I got to the end. If I could describe it without giving away the plot, it is a story very much like "The Velveteen Rabbit" meets "Alice in Wonderland" with a little bit of "Raggedy Ann & Andy," " Toy Story," and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" tossed in for good measure.

Yes, it was written with middle graders in mind, but it's also a story adults can enjoy, too. ( )