Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: Santa's stolen sleigh by Tracey Corderoy. Illus. by Steven Lenton

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam are two dogs who used to be robbers, but, having seen the error of their ways, now bake delicious treats and solve mysteries and sniff out crimes! In this new adventure, they are off to Lapland to bake a festive feast for Santa and his elves. But there's a Christmas crisis - the elves are unwell and can't finish the toys! Does mysterious stranger and gadget queen, Flo Frost, really want to help? Or could she have her eyes on the most magical gadget of all . . . Santa's flying sleigh?! It's up to Shifty and Sam to race across the snowy slopes and save Christmas for everyone!

Written in rhyme, this is a story that will delight young readers with its sense of fun made even better because they can scan a QR code and have it read to them if they can't manage it for themselves yet. It is one of the latest in this series which has endured for 10 years, and so, those who are already familiar with Shifty and Sam will delight in seeing them again and putting all they know about them already into continuing their friendship.

Themes: Santa Claus.

Barbara Braxton