Meowy Christmas!
Panos Christodoulou
Illustrated by Daniela Stamatiadi
Translated by Manos Bonanos
Post Wave Publishing UK Ltd., August 2025
ALL ABOUT MEOWY CHRISTMAS!
(From the book publisher)
One cat, one tree, one Christmas catastrophe… Full of kitty chaos, feline festivities and laugh-out-loud catastrophes, this hilarious tale captures the magic and mayhem of a kitten’s first Christmas.
One December morning, Tiddles the cat wakes to find an unexpected arrival towering over him. It’s big, it’s bushy, and it’s draped in oh-so-tempting tinsel! The humans love their beautiful new Christmas tree, but one kitten is not so smitten. And when the tree’s twinkly lights start to disrupt nap time, Tiddles must take matters into his own claws, once and for all…
Join Tiddles as he faces his biggest (and sparkliest) adversary yet: the Christmas tree!
MY THOUGHTS
I was happily surprised when I read this book and discovered how sweet and funny it is.
The book’s cover definitely lives up to its promise and I dare you not to be charmed by Tibbles’ antics. I’m a forever dog lover but I still found this book irresistible.
First off, I love the illustrations. They’re detailed, textured with lots of fabric-looking designs, colourful, and very expressive. Every single drawing of Tiddles makes me either smile or laugh aloud. And I love how Daniella chose to only show parts of the humans — we never actually see their faces — because, of course, all the focus is on Tiddles.
I love the writing, too! It’s casual, friendly, and humorous.
I started laughing on page 1 when I read this line:
Yes, like all cats I love to sleep. It’s one of my superpowers. Even so, how did I nap through THIS… a TREE growing RIGHT HERE in MY living room!
It’s fun to look at things from an animal’s perspective. Of course Tiddles might think the tree is growing in the room — what animal wouldn’t!
Another perspective example that had me laughing is when Sally plops the kitten onto the couch and waggles her finger at her. Tiddles immediately wonders if Sally is casting a spell or if it’s a new game.
Panos perfectly captures a kitten’s curiosity, joie de vivre, and devil-may-care attitude as Tiddles makes it her personal mission to investigate and ultimately destroy the tree.
The story doesn’t end there, though, as there’s a lovely and fun little twist that suggests that even more chaos is about to descend upon Sally and Ivan’s house.
The publisher suggests the book is suitable for ages 3-5 but I completely disagree. I would definitely recommend it for kids up to 8 and am even contemplating giving it to my grandkids (ages 9 and 13) as a fun holiday read. Their cat, Coco, might like it, too, haha!
MEOWY CHRISTMAS! EXTENSION IDEAS
ART: With a class of 6, 7 or 8 year-olds I would have them recreate the book cover. It could be done with a quick pencil sketch, then a pastel colouring of the cat (with just the head and tail showing) followed by a sponge painted Christmas tree.
WRITE A SEQUEL: This could be a sentence and picture, a paragraph, or a short story. I don’t want to give away the ending, but it definitely lends itself to a whole new funny adventure that most kids would be happy to imagine.
PERSONAL PET STORIES: I would have my students write these in their journals and then take some time afterwards to share everyone’s tales.
COLOURING: Here’s a free cat colouring page.
Before you go, be sure to check out all my other book reviews!
HAPPY READING, FRIENDS!
Barbara
