Category: The Christmas Pig

Throughout the month of December, join us on our Instagram and Facebook channels for this year’s The Christmas Pig readalong. Find out more about how you can join in at home below!

When is it?

The readalong will begin on Friday 1^st December and will end on Sunday 24^th December.

How can I join in?

Whether you’re spending the holidays at home or with friends and family, follow us on Instagram and Facebook for regular updates on how many chapters to read or listen to each day in order to complete the book on Christmas Eve!

We’ll be sharing quizzes, deep dives on illustrations we see in the story, characters we encounter, and so much more! It’s a readalong you won’t want to miss.

Remember to share your reading journey with us throughout December by posting a photo on Instagram or Facebook, tagging @jkrowling_stories and #TheChristmasPigReadalong so we can see how you’re getting on!

The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling, featuring art from renowned illustrator Jim Field, is now available in paperback!

The Christmas Pig is a heart-warming, page-turning adventure about one child’s love for his most treasured thing, and how far he will go to find it. Now published in a beautiful paperback edition, including the original black-and-white illustrations from award-winning illustrator Jim Field, it is a tale for the whole family to fall in love with.

Just in time for the holidays, Scholastic have released a very special virtual event for all to enjoy. J.K. Rowling is joined by a group of children from across the U.S. for an intimate conversation about the spirit of giving and the meaning of hope, all inspired by her latest book The Christmas Pig.

All five children were nominated by their teachers as super readers and joined J.K. Rowling online from Massachusetts, New York, Indiana, Arizona, and Texas. You can tune in to the free-to-view virtual event as the children ask questions, enjoy a read-aloud, and discuss their hopes and wishes for the holidays.

In the spirit of the book, Scholastic generously donated 100,000 assorted children’s books to 100 Title 1 schools (that’s 1,000 books for 100 different schools) across the U.S. Additionally, the US publisher will donate 10,000 books to Toys for Tots, an organisation whose goal is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate children.

J.K. Rowling was joined by families to celebrate the launch of her new book The Christmas Pig.

The event was hosted by television presenter Konnie Huq, and guests enjoyed a fun, entertaining in conversation with J.K. Rowling as well as a reading from the author herself. They were later joined by Rocco Padden, the young voice of Jack in the Audible audiobook and by illustrator Jim Field, who showed children how to draw the Christmas Pig.

Watch the event here:

The wait is over! J.K. Rowling’s new children’s book The Christmas Pig is out today.

Her first children’s novel since Harry Potter, The Christmas Pig, illustrated by Jim Field, is the story of a little boy called Jack, and his beloved toy, Dur Pig, and the toy that replaces Dur Pig when he’s lost on Christmas Eve – the Christmas Pig. Together, Jack and the Christmas Pig embark on a magical journey to seek something lost, and to save the best friend Jack has ever known.

Already hailed as ‘a triumph… her best book since Azkaban’ (Evening Standard) and ‘this wonderful new story from a writer who truly understands what it is to be a child’ (Daily Mail), the book is published by Hachette Children’s Group in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and India, in the US and Canada by Scholastic, and in thirty-five translated languages by other publishers making it a truly global publication.

The English language audiobook is narrated by Amaka Okafor, with Rocco Padden as Jack, Gerran Howell as the Christmas Pig, alongside a full cast and immersive audio experience bringing the characters of this heartwarming adventure about one child’s love for his most treasured thing to life.

The audiobook by Audible is available in English, German, French, Italian, Latin American Spanish, Castilian Spanish, and Japanese.

To celebrate the launch of her new book, J.K. Rowling will be joined by illustrator Jim Field, and Rocco Padden, the voice of hero Jack, at a special family event at Alexandra Palace in London. A recording of the live event will be available to view on jkrowlingstories.com on Sunday 17 October from 10am BST, for all to enjoy.

 

We are delighted to reveal two illustrations from J.K. Rowling’s new book The Christmas Pig.

Along with the cover, Illustrator Jim Field has created nine black and white illustrations for the interior of the book. The first revealed today is a small portrait of Jack’s lost toy Dur Pig.

Dur Pig, known as DP, is the best friend Jack has ever known… a small toy pig, with plastic beans in his tummy and trotters exactly the right size to wipe away a tear.

The second features hero Jack and the Christmas Pig falling into the ‘Land of the Lost’. This is the place things go when you lose them, and Jack and the Christmas Pig will have to journey there if they want to save DP.

Jim Field said “I have loved illustrating The Christmas Pig. With the cover and the black-and-white illustrations, I wanted to create something filmic and timeless, which capture the excitement of J.K. Rowling’s incredible story and the personalities of the memorable characters. It really is a dream project and I’m so chuffed to be part of it.

Along with Jo’s (J.K. Rowling) description, my daughter’s plush toy, Monsieur Lion – which she took with her every day to nursery – has been a great inspiration for me in bringing this friendly character to life. Although not a pig (as you can guess from his name), he is perfectly tattered, loved and worn, just as I imagine Dur Pig to be.”

Watch the videos of J.K. Rowling talking about Jim’s illustrations and The Christmas Pig below:

 

You can read The Christmas Pig from 12^th October 2021.

The cover design for J.K. Rowling’s new book for children, The Christmas Pig, has been revealed! Award-winning illustrator, character-designer and animation director Jim Field has produced a stunning illustration for the cover as well as nine black and white spreads and design features for the interior of the book.

J.K. Rowling commented: ‘Jim’s illustrations are simply perfect. It really is as though he got inside my head and drew what he saw there! I gasped out loud when I saw one particular illustration (I can’t say which it is without giving spoilers), because it was such a perfect representation of one of my favourite scenes.’

Jim Field said: ‘It was ever so slightly daunting when I thought about the number of people who are going to see this cover around the world… No pressure, Jim! Brilliantly, we all agreed on the cover design from the outset, so that allowed me plenty of time to get all the little details right. I wanted to create something filmic, timeless, that captures the excitement of J.K. Rowling’s incredible story and the wonder of Christmas, where the adventure begins. It is really a dream project and I’m so chuffed to be part of it.’

The Christmas Pig will be simultaneously published on 12th October 2021 in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and India by Hachette Children’s Group, in the US and Canada by Scholastic, and in thirty-five translated languages by other publishers making it a truly global publication.  It will also be simultaneously published as an audiobook by Audible in English, German, French, Italian, Latin American Spanish, Castilian Spanish, and Japanese.  Jim Field’s illustrations will feature on the covers of all editions.