The seventh entry in Graham Oakley's series of picture-books devoted to the adventures of a group of church mice and their cat companion, The Church Mice at Christmas sees Arthur and Humphrey determined to raise the money they need to throw a Christmas party. When their efforts to raffle Sampson off prove less than successful, and their caroling venture ends in disaster, they find that an unexpected encounter with a most unusual Santa Claus does the trick...

After my experiences with the previous installment of the series, The Church Mice at Bay, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep on with these books. But having enjoyed the first five titles, and having already checked this out of the library, I decided to give it a try. I'm glad that I did, as this sees a return to the warm-hearted humor I have come to associate with the Church Mice books. The burglar-Santa Claus, with his bag of swag - that is to say, presents - was a particularly nice touch. A lovely little holiday tale for fans of the series! ( )

This is an excellent example of a fantasy book. The mice characters in this story are very believable but they are talking mice which is an unrealistic aspect. The mice, the setting and the plot are all believable within the context of the story.
Art Media: watercolors
Appropriate Age: Primary and Intermediate ( )