Mr Dilly Meets: The Christmas Book Cracker – FREE Festive Author Event

A FREE festive special for schools with 8 children’s authors, Christmas stories, readings, magic, mayhem, a live quiz and surpise guests!

Snow leopards. Vengeful reindeer. Miserable monsters. A mouse orchestra. Naughty brothers. A camper van bookshop. And one VERY big red button…

Christmas has arrived at Mr Dilly Meets! 🎄📚

Join Mr Dilly and eight brilliant children’s authors for The Christmas Book Cracker – a special 90-minute celebration of festive stories, winter adventures, Christmas chaos, outrageous silliness and the magic of books.

❄️ Abi Elphinstone – Goodnight Silver
Journey into the snowy mountains of Mongolia for a magical adventure about Emmy, a lost snow leopard cub and a dangerous journey towards Whisperfell. A story filled with courage, hope, wildlife, wonder and believing in impossible things.

🐭 Ella Risbridger – The Great Mouse Orchestra
Join little mouse Jeremy Larkin on one magical winter night as he sets out in search of the legendary Great Mouse Orchestra, helped by a wonderfully unlikely collection of animal friends.

🦌 The Brothers McLeod – Knight Sir Louis and the Reindeer of Revenge
Santa has been kidnapped by Crasher, the Reindeer of Revenge – furious that he didn’t get the job pulling Santa’s sleigh. Can Knight Sir Louis and his friends save Santa before Christmas is ruined for everyone?

👹 Wendy Meddour – Frost and Bite at Christmas
Frost and Bite are two miserable monsters who love arguing, dribbling and smashing things – but absolutely hate sharing and Christmas. What happens when the cheerful Gobbits arrive with a present they’re expected to share?

🎅 Catherine Emmett – Santa vs the Naughty-Listers
Three mischievous brothers are convinced they’re on Santa’s naughty list, so they come up with a dastardly plan: trap Santa and keep all the presents for themselves. But who really is naughty – and who is nice?

🚐 Harry Woodgate – Grandad’s Christmas
Milly is spending Christmas with Grandad, but when his friend Viv’s home and bookshop are flooded, they come up with a plan to help. A warm celebration of community, generosity, friendship and giving to others at Christmas.

🔴 Sam Usher – Warning: No More Silliness!
Life is full of rules. Don’t pick your nose. Don’t eat somebody else’s birthday cake. Don’t dive into a paddling pool full of alligators. And whatever you do, DO NOT PRESS THE BIG RED BUTTON. A gloriously silly celebration of rules, imagination and finding out what happens when somebody inevitably does exactly what they’ve been told not to do.

But this isn’t eight interviews one after another.

We’ll move between winter wonder, Christmas chaos, outrageous silliness and the heart of Christmas, with author chats and readings, quick-fire festive games, pupil questions and surprise Christmas messages from some familiar children’s authors along the way.

There’ll also be Naughty or Nice?, plenty of festive fun and a very special:

🎄 THE CHRISTMAS CRACKER QUIZ!

Our authors will go head-to-head while schools can play along and keep their own score.

Then everyone comes together for a final festive panel exploring what makes a great Christmas story – from snow, magic and mayhem to friendship, hope, generosity, belonging and the traditions that make this time of year special.

And throughout the show, look out for Christmas Cards from Authors – surprise festive messages from even more familiar faces from the world of children’s books.

📅 Tuesday 8th December 2026
⏰ 11:00am GMT
⏱️ Approx. 90 minutes
🎒 Ages 6–11 | KS2 + late KS1
🆓 FREE for schools
▶️ Watch live or catch up for 14 days

The replay means schools can enjoy the whole Christmas Book Cracker in one go, or split it across the final weeks of term.

A huge festive celebration of books, imagination, laughter, adventure and the joy of discovering your next great read.

Register your school FREE and join us for The Christmas Book Cracker! 🎄