The Gruffalo and Friends: Advent Calendar Book Collection

Twenty-four small books to open one a day through December, each drawn from the picture books Julia Donaldson made with Axel Scheffler. There are colouring, drawing and activity books alongside songs and rhymes to share aloud, with The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, The Snail and the Whale and other old friends turning up along the way.

The back covers hold a clever extra: match them up and they form four puzzle scenes of the characters celebrating the season together. The whole set comes in a hardback presentation case tied with a ribbon, which keeps the little books together once the countdown is over. A warm, unhurried way for families with young Donaldson devotees to mark each day of Advent, with something to make, sing or puzzle over before bedtime.